Hoopsters hit hard by NSC-NOC duel

HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE

KATHMANDU: The never-ending spat between Nepal Olympic Committee (NOC) and National Sports Council (NSC) has taken its toll in basketball — the hoopsters being denied an opportunity to participate in the third Asian Beach Games, which has already begun in Haiyang, China.

Nepal were supposed to fly to China on Thursday before opening match the next day but the Nepal Basketball Association (NeBA) president Lama Tendi Sherpa said: “the dispute between NSC and NOC has almost shut the doors closed.” Tendi blamed the uncertainty of Nepal’s participation in the Games for the lack of coordination between the NSC and NOC.

“They (NSC and NOC) are so much engrossed in the duel that they even don’t care about the players’ participation,” added Tendi, himself an NOC Joint General Secretary.

“They are running away from their responsibilities blaming it instead for a delay in budget release from the Finance Ministry,” added Tendi. Tendi further said NOC President Dhruba Bahadur Pradhan instead asked the NeBA to arrange the required budget (Rs 630,000) for themselves. Nepal was due to field men’s and women’s team with four members in each section. NeBA senior vice-president Narendra Thapa is the team manager.

“As NeBA president, I also have to take the blame morally but NSC and NOC have been the major culprit here,” he said.

The men’s team shooting guard Sadish Pradhan said players will have to rethink about their involvement in basketball if conditions like these recur. “We devote much of our time in basketball and when events such as these occur, who would like to become a player?” fumed Pradhan.

Basketball was not the only game affected by NSC and NOC dispute. Nepali men and women’s beach volleyball teams left for the Games amidst uncertainty over their participation only after managing the required budget themselves. The climbing team is leaving on Thursday on its own expense.