Organizing a press conference in the capital on Thursday, NGA President Kishor Bahadur Singh said that the event was being organized with the view to bringing gymnastics, which had remained inactive in the country for a long time, back to its previous state.[break]
"To boost the morale of the players and also to know the original quality of the game in the country, the event is being organized," Singh, who was elected president of NGA after the dissolution of NGA headed by Dhruba Bahadur Pradhan some two months back, said. The NGA led by Pradhan, who is also the president of the Nepal Olympic Committee, was dissolved by NSC, the apex sports body of the nation, citing its inactivity.
According to the organizers, the event will feature 130 players in male and female categories from 15 districts--Jhapa, Morang, Sunsari, Saptari, Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, Lalitpur, Makawanpur, Kavre, Kaski, Baglung, Banke, Bardiya, Kailali, Kanchanpur--and a departmental team, Nepal Army.
The participants will vie for 17 gold medals--seven each in senior and U-15 men´s category and three in women´s category.
NIC Foundation is the chief sponsor of the event while Rathi Group, Bank of Asia, Siddhartha Bank are the co-sponsors. Rumpum, Yamaha, Hulas and DPS School are the supporters.
Speaking on the occasion, General Manager of NIC Bank and treasurer of NIC Foundation Bashu Dawadi said the foundation promoted by NIC Bank was proud to be associated with the event and it was an opportunity for them to contribute in sports.
Pentagon, Golden Gate in semis
Pentagon, Golden Gate, Prime and Whitehouse advanced into the semifinals of the Second Jaycees Cup Basketball Tournament in the boys´ category on Thursday. Pentagon edged out Xavier International 59-46 while Golden Gate thrashed Bern Hardt 44-23. In other matches, Prime defeated Alliance 58-39 and Whitehouse ousted Triton 58-48. In the girls´ category, Prime beat Bright Vision 29-18 to book a semifinal berth.
NCA prez elected in FIDE board
Nepal Chess Association (NCA) President Rajesh Hari Joshi was unanimously elected the board member of FIDE, the international governing body of chess, at the 81st FIDE Congress held in Khanty, Russia on Thursday. Joshi is the first Nepali to be elected in FIDE representing Asia. Joshi was elected as the president of NCA about three years ago. Joshi had filed his candidacy from the Kirsan Ilyumzhinov group. Ilyumzhinov, who was challenged by former World Chess Champion Anatoly Karpov, was re-elected as the president. Representatives of 171 countries participated in the congress.
Wrestling Players´ Association formed
A nine-member Nepal National and International Wrestling Players´ Association was formed under the chairmanship of Upendra Das Bairagi on Thursday. Nagender Kumar Yadav, Nagendra Khatri, Debba Yadav and Satyendra Yadav have been appointed vice-chairman, secretary, joint secretary and treasurer, respectively. The other members of the committee are Manoj Kumar Yadav, Ahir Mohan Yadav and Ram Bahadur Yadav.
Shashidutta trust to award cricketers
The Shashidutta Pandey Memorial Trust, established in the memory of the late cricketer Shashidutta Pandey, is set to honor one male and one female cricket player each year with the Shashi Fresh Player of The Year Award. The awards for this year will be given in the capital on Saturday.
The players to be honored will be selected on the basis of their performance throughout the year in national and international level. Umpires Durganath Subedi (Devendra) and Raman Shiwakoti are the members of the players selection committee coordinated by Sureshdutta Pandey, a member of the trust.
The late Pandey, who was a cricket official, umpire and player, had died on August 8, 2009.
Shanti Pandey, the wife of the late cricketer, is the patron of the Trust while Kalyanbhakta Panta and Pradipmani Dixit are the president and vice-president, respectively. Nandalal Sapkota and Arun Satyal are the secretary and joint secretary, respectively, while Umesh Krishna Shrestha is the treasurer.
Takshashila, Rambhakta win
Takshashila Academy and Rambhakta Memorial won their respective matches on Thursday during the Fourth Pepsi Inter-school Invitational Football Tournament held at the Sanothimi sports ground. Takshashila hammered Baylor International 3-0 as Suraj Hamal, Bhiran Bhagarti and Anil Gurung netted a goal each. A brace from Sujan Makaju helped Rambhakta Memorial defeat Nava Jyoti 3-0. Purendra Ale Magar added another goal for Rambhakta. In another match, Gyanodaya ousted Divya Deepjyoti 2-0. Chhiring Gurung and Subash Gurung scored a goal each for the winners.
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