KATHMANDU, JUNE 22

Nepal Olympians Association felicitated 12 veteran athletes at the Olympians Reunion programme here on Tuesday.

The NOA organised the Olympians Reunion programme with an objective of building bonding among the 87 Olympians from 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games to 2020 Tokyo Olympics along with four youth Olympians. Out of the 87 Olympians, nine athletes have passed away, while one is out of contact.

The NOA felicitated 12 Olympians who represented the country from 1964 Olympics to 1980 Moscow Games. Boxers Nam Sing Thapa and Ram Prasad Gurung (1964), athletes Jit Bahadur KC and Bhakta Bahadur Sapkota (1972), and athlete Baikuntha Manandhar (1976) were felicitated on the occasion. Also, 1980 Olympians – boxers Umesh Maskey, Rabiraj Thapa and Narendra Poma, athletes Laxman Basnet, Raghu Raj Onta and Mukunda Hari Shrestha, and weightlifter Rajendra Pradhan were also feted.

Minister for Youth and Sports Maheshwor Jung Gahatraj, Bagmati Province Sports Minister Ratna Dhakal, Nepal Olympic Committee President Jeevan Ram Shrestha, National Sports Council Member Secretary Tanka Lal Ghising and NOA President Deepak Bista among others handed over felicitation letters to the Olympians. The World Olympians Association representative, Jovina Choo from Singapore, handed over OLY pin to all the Olympians on the occasion.

Nepal began its Olympic journey from the 1964 Games in Tokyo and has been taking part in the global sporting extravaganza except for the 1976 Olympics.

A total of 87 athletes have so far represented the country in the Olympics, although Nepal has not been able to win a single medal till date. Taekwondo stars Sangina Baidya (2004 Athens) and Deepak Bista (2008 Beijing) are the only two athletes who earned berths in the Olympic Games through qualifying events.

The NOA also organised a gala dinner in honour of the Olympians, while veteran actors Madan Krishna Shrestha and Rajesh Hamal along with singers Yogeshwor Amatya and Ram Krishna Dhakal also attended the programme. The event was supported by NOC and NSC, while Kelme Nepal, Nabil Bank, Chakrabarti Habi Education Academy, Chandragiri Municipality, Jimi Group, Sumegh Travels, Siddhartha Bank, Thread Carpets, Hotel Royal Singi, Empire Education, Sanima Bank, Avinash Distillery, Real, AlfaBeta, Ruslan, Bottlers Nepal, NRS Sports Foundation, Rastriya Banijya Bank, Civil Bank, New Horizon Carpets were the sponsors.