Kathmandu: The two times national cycling champion Padam Sabenhang today alleged Nepal Cycling Association (NCA) of being biased over the selection of cyclists for the 11th South Asian Games.

After the SAG Organising Committee decided to include another men’s elite category, the NCA picked Mangal Lama — one of the three disqualified cyclists at the selection tournament. Padam said the NCA handed the berth to Mangal without holding another stage of selection.

Narayan Gopal Maharjan, Ajay Pandit Chhetri and Raj Kumar Shrestha, the top three finishers of the selection tournament had made it into the SA Games along with the unanimous pick Nirjala Tamrakar in women’s category. Nirjala was the only women participant at the selection tournament on November 27 last year.

Padam along with Mangal and Rajeev Rai were disqualified from the selection after they failed to maintain the prescribed rules of the event. Padam is the national champion of 2008 and 2009 while Rajeev finished first at the fifth National Games in April last year.

“I claimed the national title twice and Rajeev is the fifth National Games champion. We didn’t ask to pick one among the two of us unanimously. We brought the idea of holding another selection tournament between the three of us but I was shattered when the NCA decided to send Mangal,” said Padam.