Olympian Singh claims four gold medals, shatters national record

Gaurika Singh of Tribhuvan Army Club swims in women’s 100 meters butterfly heats during the 8th National Games at Cygnett Hotel swimming pool in Nepalgunj on Tuesday. Photo: Udipt Singh Chhetry/ THT

NEPALGUNJ, APRIL 23

Olympian Gaurika Singh set a new national record on her way to winning four gold medals in the National Swimming Championship here at the Cygnett Hotel pool today.

The Tribhuvan Army Club swimmer Singh, the youngest athlete of the 2106 Rio Olympic Games, had won two each gold medals with one apiece national records on the first two days. Singh set the new mark in women’s 100m butterfly event with the timing of one minute and 07.97 seconds.

She improved on her own mark of 1:08.63. Fellow TAC swimmer Duana Lama came second in 1:14.07, while APF’s Shreebi Maharjan was third in 1:21.37.

Singh won the 200m backstroke event gold medal in 2:41.25, while NPC’s Anushka Pokharel came second in 3:00.63 and Diya Sthapit of APF was third in 3:06.47.

Also, Singh finished first in 200m freestyle with the timing of 2:09.19 equalling her own national record, while fellow TAC swimmer Duana Lama came second in 2:18.10 and Tisa Shakya of APF was a distant third in 2:26.31.

Likewise, Singh was the member of the TAC team along with Upaasti Maharjan, Duana Lama and Sofia Shah that won gold medals in women’s 4X100m Individual Medley relay with the timing of 4:51.89.

NPC team of Samira Shova Thapa Magar, Ahushka Pokharel, Adipsa Vaidhya and Anushiya Tandukar was second in 5:24.91. APF’s Ushka Maharjan, Diya Sthapit, Shreebi Maharjan and Tisa Shakya came third in 5:43.69. NPC, APF and TAC claimed top three positions in men’s section.

Shuvam Shrestha of APF also set the new national record in men’s 50m breaststroke.

Shrestha finished the distance in 31.90 seconds to improve his own mark of 32.01. Dipankar Awale of NPC was second in 33.25 seconds and Bedagya Raj Joshi came third in 34.42 seconds.

Nathan Dorje of NRNA, Duana Lama and Anubhav Subba of TAC, and Gaurav Lama of NPC also bagged gold medals on the third day of the tournament held at the 25-metre pool of a private hotel after the organisers failed to meet the deadline to complete the new facilities on the Nepalgunj Stadium premises.

Wushu

Tribhuvan Army Club claimed the team championship of the 14th National Wushu Tournament in Nepalgunj. TAC bagged 14 gold, one silver and three bronze medals to finish first, while Nepal APF Club came second with five gold, eight silver and five bronze medals. Nepal Police Club were third with two gold, one silver and five bronze medals. Out of the 22 gold medals, Karnali Province bagged one.

Bikesh Kuthu goalkeeper of Tribhuvan Army Club saves penalty shot in tri-breaker in men’s football semi-final match during the 8th National Games at Nepalgunj Stadium in Nepalgunj on Tuesday. Photo: Udipt Singh Chhetry/ THT

Football

Tribhuvan Army Club and Nepal Police Club advanced to the men’s section final of the National Football Tournament at the Nepalgunj Stadium. TAC registered a 3-1 win over Province-5 in tie-breaker after a 2-2 draw, while NPC beat APF 2-1.

The final is slated for Wednesday.

Volleyball

Nepal Police Club and Tribhuvan Army Club advanced to the men’s section final of the National Volleyball Tournament at the Sukra Stadium in Khajura. NPC defeated Gandaki Province 3-1, while TAC beat Nepal APF Club 3-2 in the semi-final matches. In women’s section, Nepal APF Club and Province-3 advanced to the final. APF defeated Gandaki and Province-3 beat Nepal Police Club by identical scores of 3-0. The finals are slated for Wednesday.

Karate

Nepal Police Club finished first in the National Karate Tournament under the eight National Games in Tulsipur, Dang. NPC claimed nine gold and one silver. TAC came second with three each gold and silver along with four bronze medals, while Province-3 finished third with two gold and one each silver and bronze.

On the final day, Rajeev Pudasaini of NPC defeated Raj Kumar Rasaili of Gandaki Province in the 60kg weight category final. Jagat Singh Ghanuk of Farwest and Mohan Karki of APF were joint third.