Nepal Army is organizing the first-ever regional sports meet on its own initiative for fostering ties among the armies of South Asian countries through the medium of sports.[break]
“It is a historic moment for Nepal Army, firstly, because our players are getting integrated sports facilities and, secondly, because it is under our initiatives that the games is being organized for the first time in the history of South Asia,” said Major General Daman Bahadur Ghale, during a press conference organized at the Army Headquarters on Thursday.
“It is a milestone for us,” added Ghale.
The six-day event will see the participation of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and the host Nepal in six different games that will be held at the newly-built Army Physical Training and Sports Center inside the Rajdal Battalion, Lagankhel.
“We were expecting the participation of all eight countries from South Asia, but Bhutan, Afghanistan and the Maldives withdrew in the last moment,” said a source at the Army Headquarters.
The players will compete in football, volleyball, taekwondo, badminton, athletics and boxing.
Sri Lanka has the highest number of participants who will compete in all six events. The Sri Lankan Army team includes 64 players followed by Nepal, which has 59 players. The Indian team has 58 players while Pakistan has 37 and Bangladesh 33. A total of 251 players will participate in the games.
The organizing committee informed that the players of Tribhuvan Army Club have been undergoing closed-camp training for the sports meet at Rajdal Battalion barracks.
Nepal Army also believes that the sports meet will help in improving the standard of Nepali sports.
“Most of the army players participating in this tournament are also the ones who compete in the South Asian Games. So this sports meet will help our players improve their games and also the standard of Nepali sports,” said Ghale.
“Our players didn´t have proper facilities but now they have got a good sports complex,” he added, referring to the Army Physical Training and Sports Center.
The organizing committee said that the concept of the sports meet was formed by Nepal Army, which is looking forward to take the tournament to new heights by handing the hosting rights to the other SAARC member countries.
“This is the first time so we have included only six events. We hope more events will be included in the coming days,” said a member of the organizing committee.
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