Kathmandu, January 20

Khurshid Ahmed Khan is the most successful Nepali athlete in Javelin Throw with a total of five medals in the South Asian Games, including the silver he won in the seventh edition in Madras in 1994. The man remains tall in Javelin Throw, not only with five medals but also a lone athlete to participate in five editions of the regional games since making his debut in the third SAF Games held in Calcutta in 1987.

While the men’s Javelin Throw has won so many accolades for the country, the women athletes remain far behind when it comes to South Asian Games. The tides are turning, albeit slowly, and female players have started coming in and Chandrakala Lamgade is one of them. The Nepal Police Club athlete stole the limelight when she broke the national record in Open Selection Tournament and earned the tickets for the 12th South Asian Games.

Lamgade, also a national record holder in Shot Put, switched to Javelin Throw in her bid to win medal in the South Asian Games. “I have put all my focus in Javelin Throw as I think it’s easier to win medal in this event compared to Shot Put,” says Lamgade, who qualified for next month’s SA Games with a new mark of 43.90 metres, breaking the record of Seema Kumari Tharu’s 43.70m set in the Thai Open in September last year. Lamgade says she is putting in lot of efforts in training to become the first female athlete to win Javelin Throw medal in the regional games. “I have been training very hard and I am confident of winning the first medal for the country,” says Lamgade, who is also scheduled to participate in Shot Put event in the Games.

Lamgade has been training under coach Bikram Jung Thapa, a former marathon runner, for the past 10 months. Thapa says Nepal can expect medal from Lamgade in future. “I will not say she will win medal in this SA Games but we can expect medal from her in next editions. She is doing well in training and she has been covering good distances. But that is not enough to touch medal in this edition,” says Thapa. “She needs a lot of practice for that.” Thapa says the athletics coaching decided to bring Lamgade in Javelin Throw because of her physical strength. “She was slow in initial phase of the training and she has improved a lot now. She needs motivation to do better in the games,” Thapa added.

Chief athletics coach Sushil Narshing Rana has a lot of expectation from Lamgade. “Khurshid Ahmed Khan dominated Javelin Throw in the past and now Lamgade can be another player to win medals for the country,” says Rana. “She is a player with lot of potential. Although she is a newcomer in the event, she can do well in international tournaments,” Rana adds.