Lalitpur, July 14

Nepal Weightlifting Association is organising the 19th Youth, 24th Junior Women’s and 31st Junior Men’s Asian Weightlifting Championships at the Army Physical Training and Sports Complex in Lalitpur from July 21-29.

This is the biggest ever championships that the association is hosting in the country after it missed the chance to organise the Senior Asian Women’s and Men’s Weightlifting Championships in 2015 due to devastating earthquake.

The current championship will feature a total of 32 weight categories but the hosts are taking part in only 14. The championships’ youth section — 13-17yrs — features eight weight categories — 50kg, 56kg, 62kg, 69kg, 77kg, 85kg, 94kg and above-94kg in men’s section and eight in women’s 44kg, 48kg, 53kg, 58kg, 63kg, 69kg, 75kg and above-75kg.

Similarly, lifters in the junior sections — 15-20yrs — will vie for the 56kg, 62kg, 69kg, 77kg, 85kg, 94kg, 105kg and above-105kg weight categories in men’s section, and 48kg, 53kg, 58kg, 63kg, 69kg, 75kg, 90kg and above-90kg in women’s section.

However, only 13 Nepali lifters are in the training camp to compete for 14 weight categories. Even, these lifters are yet to go through final medical tests to confirm their participation.

Ganesh Ranabhat and Ram Kumar Yadav have been picked up for 56kg weight category, while Prakash KC and Suraj Vaishya are in the 67kg. Sajarudin Alam (62kg), Vishal Singh Bista (85kg), Jaidee Koju (94kg) will also compete in the junior men section.

Likewise, Tusar Budha Magar (56kg), Sajarudin Alam (62kg), Suraj Vaishya (69kg), Vishal Singh Bista (85kg), Jaidee Koji (94kg) and Sagar Bhandari (above-94kg) will take part in the youth section.

In the women’s section, Sanju Chaudhary and Kabita Chaudhary will compete in the 53kg weight category, while Tikaram Gurung and Kamala Shrestha will vie for the 58kg in the junior women’s section. Kabita Chaudhary (53kg) is the only participants for youth category.

According to NWA General Secretary Parth Sarthi Sen Gupta, Nepal were forced to compete in few weight categories due to the lack of lifters. “Since we do not have adequate youth lifters in the country, we are not competing in all weight categories,” said Gupta. He said that the championships would be helpful in luring youths into the sport. “The tournament could be helpful in producing new lifters and also motivate players,” said Gupta.

The association was not able to field enough players for the championship and it does not have a high target as well. It is likely to be limited to players’ participation only. Coach Jagadish Pradhan, who has been given the responsibility of men’s team, said the players’ target in the championship would be to learn techniques rather than winning the medal.

“We cannot expect medals from such a short-term training. The championships would be a platform for Nepali youth lifters to learn from their opponents. They will get exposure and learn techniques,” said Pradhan. “We could expect medals at this level only after four to five years of regular training,” he added.

The players are under training for the championships for the last three months. NWA General Secretary Gupta also accepted that the association was not able to organise proper training due to the lack of budget.

The players were also not hopeful of winning medals in the championships. Lifter Prakash KC, who will compete in the 67kg of the junior men, said it was hard for Nepali lifters to win medals in the championships with the limited facilities. “Every player dreams of winning medal for the country and it all depends on how we perform against the opponents. The facilities that we are getting are not enough for us to win medals. However, we will get chance to show our skills to other participants,” said KC.

Similarly, Bishal Singh Bista, who will test his ability in the both junior and youth categories, said his target was to compete in the championship. “I do not have a high expectation from the championships. I will take part and learn techniques and strategies from the other participants,” said Bista.