KATHMANDU, SEPTEMBER 9
Col Jhelendra Bhattarai won the title of the 106th RNGC Open Birthday Cup Golf Tournament here at the Royal Nepal Golf Club today.
Played under stableford 3/4 handicap format, Bhattarai accumulated 42 points to win the trophy. Swadesh Gurung came second with 40 points in men's section. Ranadeep Thapa won the gross section trophy with the score of 33 points.
Mahendra Kant Mainali was the senior section winner with 34 points, while Pradeep Kumar Shrestha came second with 33 points. Gopal Chitrakar won the super senior category trophy with 33 points and he also claimed the closest-tothe-pin award.
Sumitra Khadka came first in women's section with 33 points, whereas Samjhana Khatri finished runner-up with 31 points. Sandhya Rai was the winner in senior women's section with 22 points.
Lt Col Dinesh Baniya won the guest section trophy with 43 points, while Lt Col Rajesh Gurung came second with 39 points. Col Jhalendra Bhattarai won the most birdies award with three birdies, whereas Dawa Ongdi Lama bagged the longest drive trophy. Likewise, Phursang Lama claimed the straightest drive award.
In the junior tournament played on September 3, Aaradhya Tandan won the U-17 boys' section title, while Prem Magar came second. Aaroha Neupame was the winner in U-10 section ahead of Aaryav Shah. In girls' U-17 section, Avanie Shah finished first, while Aadriti Thapa was second.
Likewise, Menansha Rai won the U-10 girls' putting competition. A total of 200 golfers took part in the tournament organised by the RNGC to mark its 106th anniversary.
The presentation ceremony began with a minute of silencein honour of RNGC President Madhukar Yakthumba's sister Shila Yakthumba, who passed away this morning.
Nepal Olympic Committee President Jeevan Ram Shrestha, Nepal Golf Association President Tashi Ghale, Nepal PGA President Rabindra Man Shrestha, RNGC Vice-president Rajendra Shrestha, IPP Prachanda Bahadur Shrestha, Captain Mithun Rai and Lady Captain Arshiya Banu handed over prizes to the winners.
NOC President Shrestha said the RNGC was a national heritage and no one was allowed to demolish the facility. "I would like to congratulate the RNGC for completing 106 glorious years in Nepali sports and it must be the only one sports association which is more than a century old," said Shrestha, the former minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation. "As per our law, 100-year-old facility, private or public, becomes national heritage and it cannot be demolished," he added.
"The Tribhuvan International Airport is congested. It is a fact and the only international airport of the valley is under extension plans. When I was the minister, I instructed the Civil Aviation Authority to extend the lease by two years at a time when the Director was not willing to give more than six months extension. I made my efforts as golf is in our priority always," said Shrestha.
"Not only in South Asia where we won two gold medals in the 13th edition of the SA Games in 2019, we believe golf has the potential to excel in Asian Games and Olympics as well."
Shrestha said the proposed Nijgadh International Airport was the other way to save the RNGC. "We built two international airports in Pokhara and Bhairahawa but they did not serve our needs. As per the high-level study during my tenure at the ministry, Nijgadh is the best place to built an international airport and it can be a game-changer for the country. If we build an international airport in Nijgadh, the TIA extension plans will be dropped and RNGC can be saved," he added.
He also urged the private sector to come forward to stop players going abroad. "A large number of players are going abroad these days. We are facing a huge challenge in this regard and huge investment of the government is becoming futile. Preparing players is a challenge in itself and stopping them from moving abroad has become another headache.
So, I would like to urge the private sector to come forward to create a fund for the betterment of the sports and athletes," said Shrestha.
A version of this article appears in the print on September 10, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
