KATHMANDU, AUGUST 4

Sudip Media Pvt Ltd felicitated seven legendary sports personalities on the occasion of the seventh anniversary of online portal, Hamrokhelkud here today.

Jit Bahadur KC and Baikuntha Manandhar (athletics), Sangina Baidya and Deepak Bista (taekwondo), Raju Kaji Shakya (football), Paras Khadka (cricket) and Gaurika Singh (swimming) received the Hamrokhelkud Supreme Seven honours along with Rs 25,000 each.

According to Sudip Media President Subas Humagain, the seven sports personalities were selected for the honour for their invaluable contributions to Nepali football. Athlete KC is the first international medallist, while Manandhar is the South Asian record-holder marathon runner.

Likewise, Baidya is the first Nepali player to earn Olympic Games berth through qualification, whereas Bista is the four-time SA Games gold medallist and three-time Asian Games bronze winner.

Shakya is the lone sports icon who won South Asian gold medal as a player and coach. He won gold medals in the 1984 and 1993 SAF Games as a player, while he coached the team to victory in the 12th SA Games in India in 2016. Apart from winning numerous titles, Khadka led the team to maiden World Cup appearance in 2014 and he is the first player to score centuries in both One Day International and Twenty20 formats. Singh stole the limelight in the 13th SA Games on home soil becoming the first swimmer to win individual gold in swimming. Singh, who went on to claim four gold medals in the meet, was the youngest athlete in the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

Member of Parliament Gagan Thapa, National Sports Council Member Secretary Tanka Lal Ghising, Nepal Olympic Committee General Secretary Nilendra Raj Shrestha, China Tradelink CEO Rajen Maharjan, Nepal Sports Journalists Forum President Durganath Subedi, Nepal National and International Players Association President Deepak Shrestha, and Hamrokhelkud Editor Prakash Timalsina among others handed over felicitation letters and cash to the legendary figures of Nepali sports.

A version of this article appears in the print on August 5, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.