Colombo, August 25 :

Deepak Shrestha was confident of re-writing history winning three consecutive gold medals in karate when he takes the centre stage here on Saturday.

He was fearless of his opponent even after drawing a Sri Lankan in the first round. “I defeated Sri Lankan players in both the eighth and the ninth SAF Games finals, so I am confident of winning against the Sri Lankan opponent this time as well,” said Shrestha.

Legendary marathoner Baikuntha Manandhar is the only Nepali player to have achieved the feat of completing hat-trick. “If I succeed, I will be the first in karate. So this means a lot to me,” he said. “I will try my best to win a gold for my country,” said the ninth SAF Games’ lone gold medallist in karate.