Kathmandu, July 10:

The 10th South Asian Games gold medallist Kamal Bahadur Adhikari was granted a wild card in weightlifting for the August 8 Beijing Olympics on Thursday.

Adhikari became the eighth player to represent Nepal in the Beijing Olympics. The other players include taekwondo ace Deepak Bista, athletes Arjun Kumar Basnet and Chandrakala Thapa, swimmers Prasiddha Jung Shah and Karishma Karki, shooter Fulmaya Kyapchhaki and judo player Debu Thapa. Bista is the only second player in the history of Nepali sports after Sangina Baidhya to qualify for the Games.

The Tripartite Commission — which comprises of International Olympic Committee (IOC), Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC), and International Federations — has allocated the wild card following an application by the Nepal Olympic Committee (NOC).

According to the IOC letter, the International Weightlifting Federation has endorsed the invitation and the BOCOG (Beijing Organising Committee for the Games of the 29 Olympiad) will be informed of the allocation. The Nepal Army lifter was allocated in the 69kg category, the same weight in which he won gold medal in Sri Lanka.