KATHMANDU, FEBRUARY 4
The government honoured the Asian Central Zone Women's Volleyball Championship winning national team members here today.
Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba handed over Rs 500,000 each to 12 players, Rs 300,000 apiece to coaches and Rs 200,000 to team manager amidst a programme at the PM residence in Baluwatar.
The government had announced the rewards after the defended the title in Mirpur, Bangladesh in December last year.
Nepal defeated Uzbekistan 3-2 in the final match at the Shaheed Sohrawardi Indoor Stadium to win the second straight gold medal. The Nepali women's team had bagged the maiden international gold medal with a 3-0 victory over Maldives in the previous edition, also in Bangladesh in 2019. On their way to defending the title, Nepal came from two sets down to beat Sri Lanka 3-2 in the opening match, while they dropped a set against Uzbekistan in the league round.
They recorded 3-0 victories against three other opponents - Bangladesh, Maldives and Kyrgyzstan - in the league stage.
Skipper Aruna Shahi was also adjudged the best setter of the tournament, while Salina Shrestha was named the best libero. Pratibha Mali, Saraswoti Chaudhary, Shanti Tharu, Usha Bhandari, Sofia Pun, Sunita Khadka, Manisha Chaudhary, Kamana Bista, Laxmi Chand and Kripa Adhikari were the other members of the team that bagged back-to-back title. Jagadish Prasad Bhatta was the chief coach, while Bharat Yadav was his deputy in the championship.
Jyoti KC was the manager of the team that travelled to Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, PM Deuba also felicitated junior world No 1 badminton player Prince Dahal and national football team head coach Abdullah Almutairi on the occasion.
The-19-year-old Dahal created history in Nepali badminton by reaching the summit in the rankings published by World Badminton Federation last month.
National football team head coach Almutairi was feted for his role in guiding Nepal to maiden final of the SAFF Championship in Maldives last year. Almutairi was not present at the programme last month when the government felicitated players, coaches and officials. The government had handed over Rs 500,000 each to 23 players and Rs 300,000 apiece to three coaches. Nepal had made it to the final for the first time in three decades before facing a 3-0 defeat against India.
A version of this article appears in the print on February 5, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
