Acharya squanders two-shot lead as Tamang claims men's individual title
POKHARA, OCTOBER 15
Bagmati Province dominated the golf tournament under the Ninth National Games claiming three gold and two silver medals here at the Himalayan Golf Course today.
Tribhuvan Army Club finished second in the table with one each gold and bronze medal, while Province-I bagged two each silver and bronze and Gandaki grabbed one bronze medal in the tournament that featured four events. Out of the five teams, only Nepal Police Club returned empty handed from the tournament.
TAC golfer Subash Tamang edged past Bagmati's Sadbhav Acharya by one stroke in a thrilling finish in men's individual event. The 13th South Asian Games double gold medallist Tamang carded even-par 69 to post the 36-hole total of one-under 137, while Acharya carded one-under 68 to finish second at even-par 138.
Tamang, who started the second and final round with twoshot cushion over Acharya, fell one stroke behind after playing one-over 35 on the front nine where Acharaya carded two-under 32. Acharya extended the lead to two shots after Tamang faced a bogey on the 11th hole.
Tamang reduced the deficit to one stroke after Acharya dropped a shot on the next hole.
Acharya extended the lead to two strokes with a birdie on the 15th hole before dropping one shot each on the 16th and 18th holes that cost him the gold medal. Acharya three-putted on the 16th and 18th holes for oneover 36 on the back nine, while Tamang carded a birdie on the final hole to card one-under 34 and claim the title. Tamang and Acharya are scheduled to fly to Bangkok on Sunday to participate in the Asia-Pacific Amateur Chapionship slated for October 27-30 at the Amata Spring Country Club in Chonburi, Thailand.
Yubraj Bhujel of Province-I finished third at three-over 141 after he played a round of one-over 70.
Wangchen Dhondup (69) came fourth with the score of 145, while Gandaki's Suresh Tamang (70) was fifth at 146.
In women's section, Kashmira Shah claimed gold medal with the total score of 23-over 161 after she played eight-over 77.
Overnight joint leaders Tara Karki Chitrakar of Bagmati and Susma Sigdel of Province-I won silver and bronze medals respectively.
Karki Chitrakar played 14- over 83 in the second round to finish second at 26-over 164, while Sigdel shot 84 to drop down to third with the score of 27-over 165. Prativa Rai (180) of Bagmati was fourth, while Gandaki's Juny Gurung came fifth at 191.
Bagmati team of Sadbhav Acharya, Tashi Tshiring, Wangchen Dhondup and Norbu Tshiring Sherpa won gold medal with the score of 432, while Province-I team of Yubraj Bhujel, Rajen Rai, Sunder Rai and Suman Pariyar bagged silver with the score of 449. TAC team of Subash Tamang, Nischaya Rayamajhi, Bishnu Bahadur Karki and Jhalendra Bhattarai claimed bronze medal with the score of 450.
In women's section, Bagmati team of Kashmira Shah, Tara Karki Chitrakar and Prativa Rai claimed gold with the score of 325. Susma Sigdel, Sumitra Limbu and Samjhana Dahal Khatri of Province-I won silver with the score of 358, while Gandaki's Juny Gurung, Tika Gurung and Sunita Rana bagged bronze medal with the score of 395.
A total of nine teams - five men and four women - took part in the 36-hole tournament.
NGA Treasurer Kishan Agrawal, Gandaki Province Golf Association President Lacchim Prasad Gurung and Nepal Sports Council Member Rajesh Gurung among others handed over medals and certificates to the winners.
Basketball
Tribhuvan Army Club recorded their second straight victory in the women's basketball under.
TAC defeated Sudurpashchim Province 68-30 in the one-sided match at the Nirmal School courts in Byas Municipality, Tanahun.
TAC took a 17-5 lead and never looked back. They won the second quarter 16-3 and dominated the third 22-10. TAC won the final period 24-12 to register comprehensive victory. TAC had defeated Madhesh Province 71- 13 on Friday.
Handball
Gandaki Province and Tribhuvan Army Club won gold medals in handball. Gandaki defeated TAC 43-36 in men's section final to claim their maiden gold medal in the Games. Nepal APF Club beat Lumbini 35-13 to finish third. In women's section, TAC edged past fellow departmental side APF 17-16 to win gold medal.
In the third-place playoff match, Gandaki recorded a 22-7 victory over Province-I.
Cycling
Tribhuvan Army Club cyclists won downhill gold medals. Rajesh Magar completed the men's 1,400m race in one minute and 49.10 seconds to finish first, while Bagmati's Nirav Shrestha came second in 1:52.10 and APF's Prachit Thapa Magar was third in 1:55.69. In women's section, TAC cyclist Nisma Shrestha took two minutes and 23.58 seconds to finish the race in first position, while her teammate Usha Khanal came second in 2:37.45 and Gandaki's Jamuna Thapa was third in 2:40.09.
Shooting
TAC shooter Narayan Singh Dong scored 600.5 points in men's individual 10m Air Rifle event at the International Sports Complex Shooting Range in Lalitpur. Nepal Police Club's Dhana Bahadur BK earned 586.1 points, while Lumbini's Arnav Ghimire accumulated 578.4 points. In women's section, Sushmita Nepal of Bagmati scored 613.5 points, while TAC's Silsha Bhandari Rayamajhi earned 610.2 points and Nisha Tamang of Madhesh Province accumulated 693. In men's 10, Air Pistol, Keber KC of Bagmati scored 546 points, while TAC's Khemraj Oli earned 528 and NPC's Anil Thakuri got 501. In women's section, TAC shooter Jyotika Dahal earned 555 points, while Krishnaa Thapa of Lumbini got 547 and Bagmati's Sabita Basnet scored 529 points.
Tennis
Tribhuvan Army Club and Gandaki advanced to the men's team event final in tennis. TAC defeated Nepal Police Club 2-1, while Gandaki outplayed APF 3-0 at the Pokhara Stadium courts. In women's section, TAC and APF set the final date. TAC defeated NPC 2-1, while APF beat Bagmati 3-0.
Taekwondo
Nepal Police Club's Asmin Raut and Nisha Darnal won gold medal in pair poomsae in taekwondo.
TAC's Dipendra Gurung and Prashamsa Chhetry won silver, while Gandaki and Province-I finished joint third. NPC also bagged team poomsae event gold medal when Prem Bahadur Limbu, Jit Bahadur Bot and Kamal Shrestha finished ahead of TAC team of Dipendra Gurung, Rejin Rimal and Ram Kumar Pokhrel. Gandaki and APF came joint third.
TAC team of Swastika Tamang, Nita Gurung and Prashamsa Chhetry won team poomsae gold medal. NPC's Nisha Darnal, Sita Tamang and Mnika Ramtel came second, while APF and Province-I finished joint third.
Football
Gandaki recorded their first victory in men's football. Gandaki defeated Province-I 2-0 at the Pokhara Stadium. Kamal Thapa and Jaya Gurung scored for the home team in Group A match.
In women's section, Nepal APF Club hammered Karnali Province 16-0. Star striker Sabitra Bhandari netted five goals, while Saru Limbu scored a hat-trick.
Anita KC and Rabina Gole scored two each, while Gita Rana, Manmaya Limbu, Sabita Rana Magar and Priti Rai netted one apiece for the departmental side.
In other matches, Province-I defeated Gandaki 2-1, while Bagmati Province thrashed Lumbini 7-0. Anjana Thulung and Anita Gurung scored for Province-I, while Shanti Nepali replied for Gandaki. Likewise, Puja Lama scored a brace, while Sujita Lama, Manisha Thapa Magar, Kumari Tamang and Sujata Lama netted one for Bagmati, who were also gifted with an own goal.
A version of this article appears in the print on October 16, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.
