Rhinos achieved a medium target of 112 runs in just 17.1 overs with 17 balls remaining. To register the first win Rhinos’ Santosh Karki scored 28 runs, Luc Benkenstein scored 22 runs, and Captain Kushal Malla, Sharad Vesawkar and Ravi Bopara scored 11 runs each.

Gurkha’s bawler Shahab Alam took three wickets by giving 20 runs in four overs but couldn’t stop his team from losing with Rhinos. Similarly, Gerhard Erasmus and Dan Douthwaite each took a single wicket. 

Earlier, batting first Kathmandu Gurkhas scored 111 runs in the stipulated 20 overs.

To minimize Gurkhas in just 111 runs Rhinos’s bawler Sohail Tanvir alone took five wickets by giving 21 runs in four overs spell. Similarly, Rijan Dhakal, Kushal Malla, Amar Routela and Luc Benkenstein took one wicket each.

Gurkhas’s Sumit Maharjan scored the highest 29 runs, Michael Levitt scored 25 runs, Dan Douthwaite scored 19 runs and Shankar Rana scored 16 runs.

Put to bat first after losing the toss, Sri Lanka stroke 233 runs in 50 overs losing all wickets in the match held at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in Sharjah, UAE.

Sharujan Shanmuganathan scored 62 runs for Sri Lanka. He scored 62 runs off 99 balls with two fours. Luckwin Awesinghe contributed 50 runs with one six and two fours facing 53 balls. Dulnith Sigera and Vimath Dinsara scored 24 runs each.

Kavija Gamage made 137 not out for Sri Lanka. Similarly, Captain Vihas Thewmika scored three runs, Kugdas Mathulan, Pulindu Perera and Praveen Manisha scored two runs each.

Santosh Yadav took four wickets for Nepal. Similarly, Yuvraj Khatri took two wickets while Hemant Dhami and Narine Saud dismissed one wicket each.

In the match that concluded a while ago, Nepal secured a dominant 165-run victory over Kuwait.

Captain Puja Mahato as a batter and bowler gave her outstanding performance in the match.

Towards batting, she played beyond a century and as a bowler, she alone took five wickets, creating a history. She is the first cricketer from Nepal to hit beyond a century and take five wickets in a single match. 

Winning the toss, Nepal chose to bat first and made 213 runs in 20 overs at the loss of two wickets. In reply, chasing the target of 214 runs for a win, Kuwait was restricted to 48 in 13 overs at the loss of all wickets.

Kuwait’s captain, Zeefa Jilani, top-scored with 36, hitting seven boundaries in 42 balls. No other batter from Kuwait was able to reach double digits. Nepal gave seven extra runs to Kuwait. 

Towards the bowling side, Mahato took five wickets followed by two each from Rachana Kumari Chaudhary and Seema KC.

Mahato hit 130 runs with 17 boundaries in 69 balls in the first inning. Soni Pakhrin scored 43 including two fours in 33 balls, Sabitri Dhami 11, and Sana Praveen contributed six to the team.

Kuwait gave 23 extra runs to Nepal.

Jilani and Raelyn Maria D’Souza took one wicket each.

Nepal will be meeting the UAE on Wednesday for the next match.  A total of four nations: the UAE, Nepal, Kuwait, and Thailand are competing in the tournament and the top team from this competition will be qualified to play in the World Cup to be held in Malaysia in 2025. (RSS)

At a meeting with the Chinese delegation led by Director of Sports Administration of Yunnan Province Yang Jhong Hua on Monday, Member Secretary Ghising said the support extended by China to Nepal in sports and other sectors would help further deepen Nepal-China relations.

Ghising said that the Council was ready to hold further discussions with China for the long-term cooperation in this sector.

He also thanked the Chinese delegation for providing sports goods and Sport Science Research Lab for the Council.

The Chinese delegation had arrived in Nepal for the participation in the Cross Country Race Competition held in Pokhara.

On the occasion, Director Yang expressed his willingness to cooperate in the areas of sports, tourism and cultural areas with special focus on youths. (RSS)

 In the competition held for 9-13 positions at the Isa Sports City Hall in the National Stadium in Bahrain, Nepal defeated Saudi Arabia by 4-1.

With this victory, Nepal has qualified to face Uganda 1 for the 9th to 11th positions on Monday. If the results are not favorable, Nepal will secure the 11th position.

In earlier matches, Nepal competed against England, Azerbaijan, Italy, and Chinese Taipei, experiencing losses against England (4-3), Azerbaijan (5-2), Italy (5-2), and Chinese Taipei (7-0).

The team consists of Ivana Thapa, Bianca Rai, Malsa Nepal, and Bidwisha Mainali. Additionally, Nepal will compete in the singles category in the women’s event as well while Jebish Burlakoti and Ashish Mahata are representing the men’s team.

This is the first match that Nepal is playing under the series. The match to be held at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, Texas is scheduled to start at 9:15 pm NST.

Meanwhile, the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) has announced a 15-member team under the captaincy of Rohit Kumar Poudel for today’s match. Anil Shah, Kushal Bhurtel, Asif Sheikh, Bhim Sarki, Dipendra Singh Airee, Arjun Saud, Aarif Sekh, Kushal Malla, Sompal Kami, Sandeep Lamichhane, Karan KC, Lalit Narayan Rajbanshi, Gulsan Jha and Rijan Dhakal are in the playing eleven.

Under the tri-series, Nepal will play two matches each against the US and Scotland. Nepal will play the second match against Scotland on Tuesday.

 The ICC World Cup League-2 includes Canada, the USA, the Netherlands, Scotland, Namibia, Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) along with Nepal. Nepal is currently ranked seventh  in the League-2 points table.

Nepal has collected three points in eight matches played so far with just one win.

Similarly, Canada leads the points table followed by the US in the second position. Scotland is fourth in the table.

In the match held at the local Dashrath Stadium in Tripureshwor today, Bhutan defeated Sri Lanka 4-1 to top the group.  With this win, Bhutan has collected four points from two matches. It played a goalless draw in the opening match with host Nepal.

In the first seventh minute of today’s match, Bhutan’s Deki Lhazom scored the first goal, taking the team to the lead.

In response, Sri Lanka’s captain Tushani Madhushika hit the goalpost in the 23rd minute by temporarily leveling the game.

Bhutan’s Dorji Aden netted the ball in the 32nd minute of play and took her team’s lead by double. Deki scored a goal in the 76th minute of play, contributing to a 3-1 lead for Bhutan. 

It was Namgyal Dema who scored a goal immediately after Deki, sealing a 4-1 victory for Bhutan.

Nepal which is in Group B is playing against the Maldives at 5.30 pm today.

Nepal won the match by 56 runs in King City, Canada on Wednesday night. Chasing the target of 158 runs by Nepal, Oman were bowled out for 101 runs in 19.5 overs.

Oman’s Zeeshan Maqsood scored top with 35 runs while Aqib Ilyas made 22. Earlier, Nepal scored 157 runs for the loss of seven wickets.

Captain Rohit Poudel led Nepal to a 56-run victory over Oman in the series. Rohit and Sandeep Lamichhane took two wickets each.

Put to bat first after losing the toss, Nepal scored 157 runs for the loss of seven wickets in 20 overs.

Captain Poudel scored 56 runs off 44 balls with two fours and four sixes. Opener Anil Saha made 11 runs, Asif Sheikh (16), Dev Khanal (18), Dipendra Singh Airee (1), Gulshan Jha (2) and Kushal Bhurtel (11).

Nepal’s first Paralympic medalist Palesha was honoured for her achievement in the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. She won a bronze medal in the women’s 57kg category of Para taekwondo.

It was a proud moment for Nepal and a significant milestone in the country’s sporting history, the French Embassy in Nepal stated in a press release.

The event was attended by Minister for Youth and Sports, Teju Lal Chaudhary, sports representatives, and business leaders.

On the occasion, French Ambassador Virginie Corteval congratulated Palesha for her hard work and success. The Ambassador remarked, “Palesha, you are a beacon of hope and determination. Your journey reflects the audacity to dream and conquer challenges. You have revealed the immense talent of Nepali athletes to the world.”

The event also served as an opportunity to introduce the Choose France/Marque France initiative, which encourages collaboration in business, culture, education etc between France and other countries, including Nepal.

In alignment with the values of the Choose France/Marque France campaign, Goverdhan’s achievement reflects the spirit of perseverance, cooperation, and excellence that both nations strive to promote, it was shared.

Moreover, the Embassy announced Choose France Tour, scheduled for 28 September 2024 at the Alliance Française, where Nepali students will have the chance to learn more about studying in France and meet the representatives from more than 15 prestigious French educational institutions. (RSS)

Welcoming sports journalists and office-bearers, who arrived here from different countries to participate in the Congress of Asian Sports Journalists Federation (AIPS Asia), at Sheetal Niwas, President Paudel urged them to make publicity of Nepal in the world sports arena citing that Nepal is a favourable place of sports and athletes.

“There is immense potential for adventurous sports, high altitude sports and ultra-marathon in Nepal”, he mentioned.

The President stressed that Palesha Govardhan had boosted the country’s image by winning a medal in the Paralympics held recently in Paris.  He pointed out the need of disseminating this message in the world community. Publicity of Nepal as the home to the Sagarmatha and the Lord Buddha is equally important, according to him.

He lauded the AIPS Asia for establishing a good trend by honouring best athletes continuously. (RSS)

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli handed Rs 6.5 million (without tax deduction) to para-taekwondo player in recognition of her historic performance in the event.

Palesha clinched the first bronze medal for the country from the Paris Paralympics. Earlier the Council of Ministers on September 5 (Bhadra 20) decided to honor the 21-year-old athlete.

The prize distribution ceremony was held amidst a special ceremony at the Prime Minister’s official residence, Baluwatar by the Ministry of Youths and Sports.

The government also awarded her coach Kabiraj Negi Lama with a cash prize of Rs 585,000 and her team manager Ramchandra Shrestha with Rs 292,000.

On the occasion, the Prime Minister announced that the decision to not impose tax on the prize amount for sports is to encourage this sector.

He expressed his hope that the government would achieve more success in the international forum. He said, “The achievement of Palesha is the first highest sports award for the country and the pride for Nepal”.

Minister for Youth and Sports, Tejulal Chaudhary, Secretary Suman Raj Aryal, National Sports Council’s member secretary Tankalal Ghishing, and Nepal Taekwondo Association officials were present on the occasion.

The Minister pledged to make efforts for enabling the atmosphere for the higher studies for Palesha and her participation in the upcoming Asian Games. (RSS)

Manandhar completed the distance in 15 minutes and 52 seconds followed by Umesh Barai of Rupandehi who took 16 minutes 4 seconds to come second while Ajay Pandey, also from Rupandehi took 16 minutes 25 seconds to come third.

Among the women runners, Sarita Kumari Basnet of Nepali Army came first with a timing of 21 minutes 29.44 seconds. Kusum Thagunna came second with 21 minutes 29.73 seconds and Bipana KC, also of the Nepali Army came third with a timing of 21 minutes and 44 seconds.

Manoj Kewat won the consolation prize among the men and Bindu Thapa among women. Harichandra Shrestha (58 years old), Mayank Agarwal (11 years old) and Sadik Pathan (11 years old) were also given consolation prizes among those who participated in the competition, said Sports Coordinator Om Kumar Shrestha.

The first, second and third winner of the competition received a cash prize of Rs 10,000, Rs 5,000 and Rs 3,000 respectively. More than 450 athletes including Nepali Army, Armed Police, Nepal Police and civilians took part in the competition. (RSS)

The construction of physical infrastructure is going on in full swing. The tournament is seen as the prestige of Karnali.

It is said that the physical infrastructure is almost ready to conduct the games in the scheduled date.

But as the date of the national games is approaching, there is confusion whether or not the games will be held in the scheduled date. The 10th National Games are just two and a half months away. With the date of the tournament coming closer, there is concern that the tournament will be postponed for some time due to change in government.

Minister for Sports Tejulal Chaudhary, who had come to Surkhet a few days ago to discuss the 10th National Games, said that preparations were not enough to hold the national sports event in the scheduled date.

The logo, mascot and song of the competition scheduled to be held from November 17 to 24 have already been made public.

Meanwhile, the Province Sports Development Council has said that the countdown for 100 days has also started.

On the occasion, Chief Minister Yamlal Kandel said that the counting of days should be started only after all preparations are made. Karnali Sports Council member secretary Bishwamitra Sanjyal, however, said there was no need to postpone the tournament due to infrastructure. “The province stadium is the main venue of the National Games and 90 per cent of the stadium work has been completed,” he said, adding, “The rest could be completed by mid-October, so there is no need to postpone the tournament due to infrastructure.”

The infrastructure for playing 24 matches for the tournament has almost been completed.

The stakeholders have demanded that the competition be held within the stipulated time. (RSS)

She has become the first Nepali athlete to win a medal in the Paralympics. In the first round match held yesterday, she had defeated Valeria Morales of Venezuela by 31-0 and made it to the quarterfinals. However, she lost to Brazil’s Silvana Fernandezong 10-8 in the quarterfinals.

As she was defeated in the second round, she got another chance or repechage, in which she defeated host France’s Sefi Carvajnelle by 2-1.

Palesha is also the first Nepali athlete to play in the Paralympics after passing the qualifying round.

Nepal has started participating in the Paralympics since the 2004 Athens Para-Olympics. Palesha started playing taekwondo since the age of 10 and joined the Para national team in 2016. Since then she has participated and won medals in various international competitions.