EDITORIAL: Well done

The infrastructure should be there for the budding cricket players who could become the stars of the future

Nepal managed to upset India with a thumping victory by 19 runs in its Group A match of the ACC U-19 Youth Asia Cup that is being held in Kuala Lumpur. This victory has made all Nepalis proud and given them something to cheer about. This is the first win for Nepal against India at any level. The Nepali youth squad proved their mettle and showed what they were capable of doing. This victory was a result of the hard work the young cricketers had put in. Nepal had lost in all five matches with India – twice in the ICC U-19 World Cup and three times in the ACC U-19 Youth Cup. With this win the Nepali side could qualify for the semi-final. Nepal has yet to play Malaysia the host of the tournament on Tuesday. Nepal had lost to Bangladesh in its opening match on Saturday. The victory was made possible by the sterling performance of its skipper Dipendra Singh Airee who top scored 88 out of 101 balls. He reached this score with six boundaries and two sixes. Eventually he went on to take four wickets. Nepal batting first scored 185-8 in 50 overs and managed to bowl out India a three-time champion by limiting it to 166 runs with 11 balls to spare. The credit for this win goes to all the players as well as their coach Binod Das in this very competitive match.

In any case, this was not a first victory for Nepali youth players against test playing nations. Neal had managed to defeat Pakistan by 30 runs and Bangladesh by 23 runs in the 2002 U-19 World Cup. The Nepali youth team had secured wins over South Africa by one wicket in the 2004 World Cup and also by two runs in 2006. Nepal had also defeated New Zealand by one wicket and won the championship plate trophy. The Nepali youth team has a very impressive record such as the beating of Zimbabwe by 99 runs in the 2008 World Cup and the Kiwis by 32 runs in the 2016 World Cup. Moreover, Nepal had also recently beaten the Bangladesh youth side by six wickets in a friendly match.

Going by the feat of the Nepali youth squad Nepal can expect to perform even better as it has the potential of defeating even test playing nations. Some of these players could be joining the national side. With the passage of time cricket is getting to be more popular in Nepal, particularly among the youths. The government for its part should grant the necessary support to this game as it lacks many basic facilities. The infrastructure should be there for the budding cricket players who could become the stars of the future. However, it is sad to note that there is also politicization of the game. If we are to perform better in the future Nepal could be a formidable team by being able to become a test playing nation which seems possible, given the present achievement by the Nepali youth squad. Finally, the youth team needs to be congratulated and we have high expectation that they will continue on with their exemplary performances. Finally, cricket should be promoted throughout the country and the talent that is there should be spotted early and nurtured in the interest of the game by holding more tournaments.

Police hospital

The Maharajgunj-based Nepal Police Hospital has been opened even to the general public for the first time since it was set up in 1984. The general public will also avail of the service of the police hospital for preventive and curative services. The hospital was established with a view to providing in-service health facilities to the police, their families, retired police servicemen and their spouses. The hospital was opened to the general public as per the May 18 decision of the council of ministers.

With the opening of this hospital even for the public, the burdens to other government hospitals such as the Bir Hopsital and TU Teaching Hospital will be lessened as it will also cater health services to the people. But the hospital, as expressed in the commitment by IGP Prakash Aryal, must deliver reliable, dependable and effective health services. The police officials have said the service fee for the public will be on par with the government-run hospitals. The Nepal Police hospital has the state-of-the-art infrastructure and qualified human resources. Initially the hospital will provide OPD services from 1:30 to 3:00 pm daily. But the hospital must consider expanding its OPD services for longer hours in the future.