KATHMANDU, April 27

The devastating earthquake that rocked Nepal on Saturday afternoon has caused damage in sports sector also.

As the nation is trying to overcome the deadly shock caused by the 7.6 richter scale in magnitude and numerous after-shocks including the 6.9 richter scale one on Sunday afternoon, the sports sector is also mourning the irreparable loss of lives and properties.

Volleyball chief coach Keshav Lal Shrestha, 57, lost his life when he was trapped inside his collapsed building in Kalanki, Kathmandu, while the Asian Games medallist boxer Deepak Maharjan lost four members

of his family, mother and brother, sister-in-law and niece in another accident in Bosigaun, Matatirtha. “I am very sad to hear that our volleyball chief coach Shrestha is no more with us which is very painful for all volleyball lovers, developers and well wishers, and a great loss in the field of sports of Nepal,” Jitendra Chand, General Secretary of Nepal Volleyball Association, wrote on his facebook wall. “We all know that no one is greater than nature, and I want to pray the god to rest in peace the departed soul of Keshav guru and give power to tolerate this difficult to his family,” he added.

Following the traumatic accident, the NVA also postponed the third National Women’s Club League Volleyball Tournament scheduled to begin on May 4.

The sports fraternity also suffered infrastructural damages on the premises of National Sports Council. The two entrances of the Dasharath Stadium, which has been a shelter for hundreds of victims since the earthquake struck on Saturday, have collapsed, while the swimming pool inside the NSC has been damaged. Likewise, the wall surrounding the swimming pool, Nepal Snooker Association, and tennis courts has collapsed.

All Nepal Football Association has postponed the Red Bull National League. The teams from India and Iran were doing warm up for the third-place match of the AFC U-14 Girls’ Regional Championship at the Dasharath Stadium, while the final between Nepal and Bangladesh was also supposed to be held on the same day. The visiting teams — India, Iran, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives — have already left for their countries, while the official status of the tournament remains uncertain as the AFC has kept mum on this matter although the local organisers ANFA has already notified the Asian football governing body about the disaster.

The earthquake also forced the postponement of Surya Nepal Masters, which was scheduled to be held from May 28 at the Gokarna Golf Club. According to General Secretary of Nepal PGA Deepak Acharya, players had just started coming to Kathmandu for the biggest golfing event of the country.

“Nepal PGA member Sabin Sapkota from Germany and a seven-member management team from India had arrived for the Masters,” informed Acharya. “The Indian team returned back in the Air Force plane after the tournament was postponed indefinitely,” he added. The Indian Air Force plane had come to Kathmandu with rescue team and relief materials for the earthquake victims.