Colombo, August 24 :

Kushal Shrestha won gold in the men’s 65-kg kumite of the karate competition at the 10th South Asian Games (SAG) here today.

Kushal was impressive against India’s H Yadav in the semi-final. He scored a thumping 8-0 win with 27 seconds remaining in the three-minute bout.

Kushal’s opponent in the final was Sri Lankan R J Edward, whom double SAF Games gold medallist Deepak Shrestha beat in final in the last edition in Pakistan. The changing of the weight category also did not helped Edward. Kushal trailed by 0-1 but then took control scoring 7-2 to clinch the second gold medal in karate after Sulochana Sijakhwa.

“I was afraid in the beginning but once in the ring, I forgot everything and concentrated in the match,” said Kushal. “I am very happy to win a gold medal for my country,” said the 24-year-old Shrestha, who won silver in the 9th SAF Games in Islamabad in 2004. “I conceded a point as I was studying my opponent’s potential early on. After I knew his game plan, I turned offensive,” he added.

“I was confident to win the gold after I saw the judges giving fair decisions during kata events,” he said. Coach, Deepak Shrestha, said that Kushal won the gold on his own. “His hard work paid off,” he said.

In the 75kg section, Niroj Karmacharya lost the closely-contested first bout against Pakistan’s S Uz Zaman 2-3. He was leading the match 2-1 but lost after failing to hold on to the lead.

“I was suffering from the back pain and could not even move freely,” said Karmacharya. Coach Deepak Shrestha said that the player lost due to his own mistake.

Swimming :

Nepali swimmers earned a bronze medal in 4X100m medley relay after first-placed Bangladesh and second-placed Pakistan were disqualified. The Nepali team of Kisim Lal Tharu, Alice Shrestha, Sailesh Rana and Om Bahadur Kumal had finished the distance in 4 minutes 53.92 seconds, in otherwise fifth position.

The medal is Nepal’s first in swimming since winning a gold, also in default, and a bronze in the eighth SAF Games in Kathmandu in 1999. The 4X100m relay team of Runa Pradhan, Nayana Shakya, Rubina Pradhan and Stuti Maskey had won the gold after India and Sri Lanka were disqualified for their false start.

Athletics :

Nepali athletes were dissapointing on the opening day of the event. Though Kanchi Maya Koju broke the national record in the women’s 5,000m with the timings of 16:55.85, she finished fourth. Koju broke the national record of 18:06.3 set by Bishu Kafle on March 6.

In men’s 10,000m, Yam Bahadur Pudasaini (31: 13.73) and Akkal Bahadur Bohara (32:43.09) finished fifth and sixth respectively. In men’s 1,500m, Prem Bahadur Mahat came fourth with the timings of 3:59.39.

In women’s 1,500m, Chhaya Khatri came sixth with 4: 42.79.

Meanwhile, high jumper Bal Krishna Chaudhary was injured during training. He was trying to jump high but hit the ceiling with his head. He was taken to hospital and needed four stitches on the wound. However, coach Sushil Narshing Rana was confident that Chaudhary would be fit before the match day. “He is on a complete rest and will be alright for the event, scheduled for Saturday,” said Rana.

Archery :

Kishore Kumar Gurung and Prem Chochange qualified for the men’s individual event of the archery competition here today. Gurung earned a total of 588 points and finished 11th overall while Chochange came 12th with 584 points. Dipak Raj Gurung scored 556 and Ramesh Bhattachan 546 points. Both Dipak and Bhattachan were ousted from the individual event and will participate in the team event.

Volleyball :

Nepal’s challenge in volleyball ended after they losing the second match in a row. Nepal lost to Pakistan in straight sets of 9-25, 17-25, 22-35 today. After losing to Sri Lanka in the opening match, Nepal needed to beat Pakistan to keep their hopes of advancing to the last four alive. In the women’s section, Nepali spikers were beaten 14-25, 16-25, 20-25 by India.

Squash :

Hira Bahadur Thapa defeated Sopon Parvze of Bangladesh 9-1, 9-1, 1-9, 1-9, 9-2, but the win became meaningless for the team after other two players Chhabi Lal Paija Pun and Anil Singh lost their matches. Bangladesh scored a 2-1 win over Nepal in the men’s team event. Pun went down fighting 7-9, 6-9, 0-9 to Ram Pashi, whereas Singh was beaten 1-9, 3-9, 1-9 by Bhola Lal Chowhan.