NPC judokas claim five golds on Day-I

Kathmandu, April 14

Manita Shrestha Pradhan of Nepal Police Club won gold medal on the opening day of the 16th National Judo Championship under the eight National Games in Nepalgunj today.

The 12th South Asian Games silver medallist Shrestha Pradhan defeated Kabita Nepali of Province-3 in the women’s below-57kg final, while Debaki Maya Shrestha of Province-3 and Sumi Thapa of Gandaki were joint third.

Soniya Bhatta of Province-5 won the below-48kg section gold medal beating Dhana Devi Rokaya of Nepal APF Club, while Sarada Kumari Khatri of Province-5 and Ratna Tamang of Nepal Police Club bagged bronze medals. NPC’s Nisha Chaudhary defeated Binita Magar of Tribhuvan Army Club in below-70kg weight category final, while Ranjana Khadka of Province-3 and Rachana Shrestha of TAC came joint third.

Olympian and 12th SA Games gold medal winner judoka Phupu Lhamu Khatri is not taking part in the tournament as she is serving one-year suspension from Nepal Judo Association for unilaterally pulling out from the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games training camp under the Nepal Olympic Committee Scholarship in Japan.

In men’s section, Umer Magar of NPC beat TAC’s Karma Tamang in below-60kg final, while NPC’s Indra Bahadur Shrestha beat Sunil Nagarkoti of Province-3 to win below-66kg gold medal.

Likewise, TAC judoka Pawan Kumar Shrestha won below-81kg section gold beating Manish Mahato of NPC, while NPC’s Rajan Joshi defeated Praneet Singh Thakuri of Province-5 in above-100kg final.

Lawn Tennis

Nepal APF Club won the doubles gold medals of the National Lawn Tennis Tournament in Rupandehi.

The pair of Ivan-ho Lissanevitch and Jitendra Pariyar registered a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Pradeep Khadka and Naveen Magar of Province-4 in the men’s doubles final.

Dharma Lamichhane and Anil Shahi of Province-4 and APF’s Chhewang Lama and Santosh Khatri bagged bronze medals.

APF duo Ashlesha Lissanevitch and Saloni Tamang won the women’s doubles gold beating TAC pair Prerana Koirala and Ani Mathema 6-1, 6-1. Priya Bhattarai and Romita Buddhacharya of Province-4 and Abhilasha Bista and Ira Rawat of TAC finished joint third.

In men’s singles, Samtakshyan Bhushan Bajracharya of NRN and Pranav Khanal of TAC made it to the final. Bajracharya defeated APF’s Santosh Khatri 6-0, 6-3, while Khanal registered a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Pradeep Khadka of Province-4 in the semi-finals.

Likewise, Prerana Koirala of APF set the women’s singles final date with TAC’s Abhilasha Bista. Koirala came from a set down to beat Ira Rawat of TAC 5-7 6-0, 6-2, whereas Bista earned a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Rena Shah of Province-3 in the semi-final matches.

Hockey

Nepal Police Club advanced to the men’s section semi-finals of the National Hockey Tournament in Nepalgunj. NPC, who participated in the tournament for the first time, stunned defending champions Tribhuvan Army Club 2-1 to finish as Group A winners. Manoj Chaudhary scored the fastest goal of the tournament when he found the back of the nets in just 30 seconds to put NPC ahead. Sagar Acharya doubled the tally in the 50th minute before Dipendra Ayer pulled one back for TAC five minutes later.

Farwest made it to the semis as Group B runners-up after their 3-1 win over Province-1.

Deepak Raj Joshi scored a brace and Sumit Kumar Kami netted one for Farwest, while Manish Magar scored the consolation goal for Province-1. Province-5 have already advanced to the semi-final as pool winners.

In another match, Province-4 recorded a 2-0 win over Province-3 riding on second half goals from Prem BK and Pradeep Nepali.

In women’s section, Province-4 registered a 4-0 victory over Province-1. Meena Pariyar scored a brace, while Debika BK and Kamala Rana netted one each for Province-4.

Also, Farwest recorded a 10-0 win against Province-3 riding on four goals from Nikita Pandey. Anu Gurung scored three, while Samara Bhatta netted a brace and Sunita Negi added one.

Badminton

Tribhuvan Army Club, Nepal APF Club, Farwest and Province-1 advanced to the women’s team event semi-finals of the 40th National Badminton Tournament in Rupandehi with identical 2-0 wins over their opponents.

TAC defeated Karnali Province, APF beat Province-5, Farwest outplayed Province-2, and Province-1 overcame Gandaki Province. TAC will face Farwest for a place in the final, while another departmental side APF will take on Province-1.

Squash

Krishna Thapa of Gandaki Province recorded fourth straight victory in the 11th National Squash Tournament in Lalitpur. Thapa recorded a 3-11, 11-6, 11-7, 7-11, 11-6 victory over Bipana Blon of Province-3. Defending champion Bhavana Sunuwar has also won four matches in the round-robin tournament participated in by six players. Thapa and Sunuwar will face each other on Monday and the match will decide the gold medal winner. In men’s team event, Province-3 and Gandaki advanced to the final. Province-3 defeated Nepal APF Club, while Gandaki beat Province-1 by identical scores of 2-0. The final slated for Monday.

Basketball

Nepal Police Club, Province-5, Tribhuvan Army Club and Province-3 registered victories in women’s basketball tournament in Ghorahi, Dang. NPC recorded their second straight victory with a 68-43 win over Province-4 riding on 16 points from Anusha Malla. National team skipper Sadina Shrestha top scored with 17 points to lead Province-3 to a 57-33 victory over Farwest Province for their second consecutive win. In other matches, Province-5 recorded a 27-24 victory over Province-1 in which Ashmita Bhujel top scored with nine points for the winning side, while Meena Gurung netted nine points as TAC hammered APF 44-37.