Nepal Chess Association has ensured participation of FIDE Master Manish Hamal, Keshav Shrestha, Prachanda Man Malakar, Rupesh Jaisawal and Dirgha Raj Joshi in the Olympiad. [break]The association has selected the top five finishers of the Sixth National Games for the Olympiad.
"Our aim is to win medals for the country and to secure the grading of International Master and FIDE Master," said Shrestha. Shrestha is the most experienced player among the participating five. The Istanbul Olympiad would be his fourth participation at that level.
"We could not practice well in the recent days since we were busy managing tickets and other logistics. However, we´ll try our best to do well in the tournament and win medal for the country," said Shrestha.
Hamal is the first FIDE Master of the country. He had secured the grading-title of FIDE Master in 2008. "After my success in the Olympiad in 2008, Nepali chess got a momentum. I want to secure the IM title from Istanbul Olympiad and want to give new momentum to Nepali chess," said spirited Hamal.
Among the participating chess players, Jaisawal is the U-19 national champion while Joshi is the first Far-Western chess player to participate in the Olympiad.
"We all are excited. I´ll try to improve my rating and try for the best possible result in the Olympiad," said Joshi.
Nepal Chess Association bade farewell to the Nepali team on Friday amidst a function in the capital. Addressing the farewell function, National Sports Council (NSC) Member Secretary Yuvaraj Lama said that NSC would provide Rs 50,000 each to the players for airfare.
Along with the five players, two officials -- Santesh Man Singh and Hera Kaji Maharjan -- will fly to Istanbul on Sunday.
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