SPORTS BRIEFS: Bhandari is Nepal's last hope

GUANGZHOU, Nov 26: Nepal´s only hope of securing the second medal in the 16th Asian Games rests on athlete Rajendra Bhandari as the mega sporting concludes in Guangzhou on Saturday.



Among 140 Nepali athletes, who participated in the Asiad, all the rest except boxer Deepak Maharjan have returned empty handed. [break]



Maharjan secured a bronze medal on Wednesday and the only category now left for Nepal to compete is marathon. Bhandari, who had won gold in the 11th South Asian Games (SAG), has pledged to try his best to secure a medal for the country.



The armyman had participated in marathon in the SAG held in Bangladesh from January 29 to February 9 this year and finished first to claim gold.



However, the marathon was later on termed as road race because the distance covered was only 35 km. Nevertheless, Bhandari is still the champion in the South Asian region and will be trying his luck in the Asiad on Saturday.



The Asiad that began on November 12 and contested by over 10,000 athletes of 45 countries will close the curtains on Saturday.



Asian Sports Journalists meet in Guangzhou



GUANGZHOU: The 15th general assembly of Asian Sports Press Union (ASPU) began on Friday in Guangzhou, China. Association Internationale De La Presse Sportive (AIPS) President Gianni Merlo and China´s Vice Minister in charge of the General Administration of Sport Feng Jianzhong jointly inaugurated the assembly. ASPU President Park Kap Chul of South Korea tabled his report about the activities of ASPU in the opening session of the three-day long assembly. Nepal Sports Journalists Forum (NSJF) President Niranjan Rajbanshi, General-secretary Hemanta Raj Kafle and Member Devendra Subedi have been representing Nepali sports journalists in the assembly participated by 25 ASPU member countries.



Namuna set final clash with Lubhu



KATHMANDU: Hosts Namuna English School ´A´ set a final clash against defending champions Lubhu Secondary School in the Seventh Namuna Running Shield Valley-wide Inter-school Boys´ Volleyball Championship. Namuna defeated Mahalaxmi Secondary School 23-25, 25-22, 24-26, 25-23 and 15-8 on Friday at the court of hosts at Lubhu.



Likewise, Lubhu thrashed Children Garden ´B´ 25-18, 25-18 and 25-18 to set a final clash against Namuna ´A´ on Saturday.

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