Nepal is gearing up for its participation in the 16th Asian Games to be held in November in Guangzhou, China.
As per the reports, Nepal's participation in 14 different sports has already been confirmed. Nepal will be participating in Archery, Athletics, Badminton, Boxing, Cricket, Judo, Karate, Shooting, Soft Tennis, Table Tennis, Taekwondo Weight Lifting, Wrestling, Wushu.
Talking to Xinhua here on Sunday, Vice-President of Nepal Sports Journalist Forum (NSJF), a sports commentator and a sports- analyst said that Nepal had very good chances of securing positions in martial art sports as it had done in the past.
He also said that the Cricket team -- both men and women -- also had high chances, as both the teams are potentially good.
Paras Khadka, Captain of the National Cricket Team and a rising star told Xinhua that his team is very excited about its participation in the 16th Asian Games.
"It's an opportunity that we will be playing against the Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Sri Lankan teams. We take it as a time to test ourselves and our performance."
Cricket has been doing exceptionally well. During the past 8 years, it has made tremendous achievements. According to Paras, the team is very positive about its participation this time as well.
Chief Coordinator of the Asian Games Preparation Committee and Treasurer of the National Sports Council, Min Krishna Maharjan told Xinhua that the participants selected for the game are undergoing rigorous training. The final phases of the training are scheduled to begin from early October.
Questions about Nepal's participation had been raised after the Finance Ministry denied the budget. However, after the initiative from various sports authorities including the NSJF, the Sports Ministry announced a budget of 50 million Nepali rupees (some 695, 000 U.S. dollars).
Maharjan said that although the budget allocated is not sufficient, it has not deterred the spirit of the players.
Ayesha Shakya, a female Taekwondo player shared with Xinhua her nostalgia of having to return back to Nepal from her trainings in South Korea due to lack of sufficient funding.
"However, the support here is abundant and there are still high hopes and aspirations lined up for until the games," she said.
Shakya is also a bronze medalist in the 15th Asian Games held in Doha, Qatar in 2006.
Although Nepal's standing in the 15th Asian Games had not been upto the mark, few players had performed exceptionally well. The players hope that this year Nepal's performance as well the standing will also make a leap.
