Lalitpur, December 8

Devika Khadka won gold medal in judo competition under the 13th South Asian Games here at the Nepali Army Sports Complex today.

Competing in the women’s below-52kg weight category, Khadka registered three wins to finish first among five participants.

She beat Sri Lanka’s Gedara Hathurusinghe Shalini in the first match before seeing off Indian judoka Gayatri Tokas in the second match. The bout lasted for seven minutes and 22 seconds after Khadka and Tokas were tied at 1-1.

Tokas took the lead with a wazari before Khadka levelled the scores with 57 seconds remaining pushing the bout into golden score. Both the players tried hard but were not able to score points and Khadka won the contest after the Indian judoka collected third yellow card into three minutes and 22 seconds of the extra time.

In the third and final match of the round robin league, Khadka earned Ippon decision over Tahamida Tabassum Jerin of Bangladesh to claim gold medal. With two wins, India’s Tokas bagged silver, while Shalini and Jerin got bronze medals.

Nepali judokas also bagged four silver and two bronze medals on the first day.

Shushila Devi Likmabam won women’s 48kg gold with four wins, while Chamila Dilani Marippulige of Sri Lanka claimed silver with three wins. Soniya Bhatta of Nepal and Humaira Ashiq of Pakistan finished joint third.

Manita Shrestha Pradhan claimed silver in women’s below-57kg with three wins. India’s Suchika Tariyal bagged gold with four wins, while Amina Toyoda of Pakistan and Mandushan Kulu of Sri Lanka got bronze medals. Shrestha Pradhan lost 1-0 at the hands of Tariyal before beating Singma Pru Marma of Bangladesh, Mandushan Kulu of Sri Lanka and Amina Toyoda of Pakistan in next three bouts.

Likewise, Nirmala Gharti Magar also claimed silver in women’s below-63kg bout.

Gharti Magar, competing in the weight category of suspended Phupu Lhamu Khatri, lost to Indian judoka Lalishram Nirupama Devi in the first bout before beating Sri Lanka’s Hafsara Yameena Rifaz and Ukroi Marma of Bangladesh in the next two bouts. India’s Lalishram Nirupama Devi bagged gold with three wins, while Marma and Rifaz won bronze medals.

In men’s section, Nepal’s Indra Bahadur Shrestha finished second after facing defeat at the hands of India’s Jasleen Singh Saini in below-66kg section. Shrestha had beaten Sri Lankan and Pakistani opponents with ease on his way to the final but he could not resist the attack from Indian judoka Singh.

Kinley Tshering of Bhutan and Muhammad Hasnain of Pakistan finished joint third.

Sanjit Dangol also finished second after he faced defeat against Chamara Nuwan Dharmawardana of Sri Lanka in the below- 73kg final. Dangol had beaten Tandin Wangchuk of Bhutan in the first round before earning Ippon over Bangladesh’s Aminul Islam with more than three minutes remaining.

Wangchuk and Vishal Rahul of India claimed bronze medals.

Also, Umesh Magar of Nepal won bronze along with Bhutan’s Ngawang Namgyal in men’s below-60kg section. Vijay Kumar Yadav of India claimed gold with four wins, while Arachchilage Wickrama of Sri Lanka bagged silver with two wins.

Boxing

LALITPUR: Three Nepali boxers Mala Rai, Sanil Shahi and Ganesh Pradhan advanced to the final making it a total of nine in boxing tournam e n t under the 13th South Asian Games here at the International Sports Complex covered hall.

Rai made it to the women’s 51kg final after beating Sri Lanka’s Kosala Nilmini. She is the fifth Nepali woman boxer in final. Lalita Maharjan (48kg), Minu Gurung (54kg), Sangita Sunar (60kg) and Poonam Rawal (64kg) have already made it to the gold medal matches. In men’s section, Shahi beat Sri Lankan boxer Jiwanth Nishanka in the 60kg weight category semi-finals, while Pradhan earned RSC decision over India’s Sachin Kumar in the 81kg section. Kumar was injured within 30 seconds of the bout and Pradhan was declared the winner on Referee-Stop-Contest decision. Six Nepali boxers, Sushil Thapa Magar, Pooran Rai, Arjun Sigu, Tej Bahadur Deuba, Bikash Lama and Chandra Kala Thapa have confirmed bronze medals.

Fencing

KATHMANDU: Nepal added a silver medal in fencing after women’s team finished second in foil. The Nepali team had made it to the final beating Bangladesh but the home side faced defeat at the hands of India that restricted them from claiming historic gold medal. Bangladesh and Sri Lanka bagged bronze medals. On Saturday, Rabina Thapa had won silver in women’s individual sabre event. So far, India have claimed eight gold medals in fencing, while Bangladesh bagged one. Nepal have won two silver and five bronze medals.

Football

KATHMANDU: Nepal beat Bangladesh 1-0 to advance to the men’s football tournament final here at the Dasharath Stadium. Sunil Bal scored the solitary goal of the match in the 11th minute following a pass from skipper Sujal Shrestha. With the win, Nepal finished first in the five-team table with 10 points and the defending champions will face Bhutan in Tuesday’s final. Bhutan — who faced a 4-0 defeat against Nepal in the leagueround match — accumulated nine points from four matches and made it to the final for the first time. Bangladesh finished third with four points and bagged bronze medal.

Wrestling

JANAKPURDHAM: A day after Sangita Dhami created history in wrestling, Sushila Chand and Nirmala Jagari won silver medals in Janakpurdham.

Chand lost to Sri Lanka’s Dilhani in the women’s 65kg section final. Moss Lucky of Bangladesh won bronze. Jagiri faced defeat at the hands of another Sri Lankan wrestler Ayomi in the 72kg weight category final. Bangladesh’s Akter Rozina came third. Likewise, Sumir Kumar Shah and Komal Khatri of Nepal bagged bronze medals. Dhami became the first Nepali wrestler to win gold medal in SA Games.