Rana elected to NOC Women’s Commission

Lalitpur: Geeta Rana was elected the president of the Women’s Commission formed under the Nepal Olympic Committee (NOC), on Monday. Usha Basnet and Jyoti Rana were elected as the general secretary and treasurer respectively and Bimala Poudel and Ratna Saud the members at the Elective General Assembly. Rana, who represented Nepal Swimming Association, beat Geeta Shrestha of Weight Lifting. Out of the 20 votes — Nepal Shooting Association was scrapped of the voting right and Nepal Archery Association participated in the assembly but without voting right — Rana earned 16 while Shrestha got six. In the general secretary post, Basnet of Judo got 15 votes while her opponent Ratna Laxmi Shrestha of Ski earned five. Among the two contestants for the treasurer, Jyoti Rana of Lawn Tennis (15 votes) emerged victorious over Shanti Gurung of Volleyball (five). Out of the six contestants for two members, Bimala Poudel of Football and Ratna Saud of Wrestling were victorious. Poudel earned 14 and Saud got 11. NOC president Dhruba Bahadur Pradhan congratulated the winners and welcomed them in the NOC family. NOC vice president Raviraj Thapa was the convenor of the preparation committee for the Commission, the third one after Athlete and Olympian Commissions. — HNS

Inter-school football

LALITPUR: Gyanodaya Bal Batika registered a 6-1 win over Mahakavi Devkota School in the Coca Cola Cup Inter-school Football here at the ANFA Complex Satdobato. In other matches, RIBS blanked Brighter Star 3-0, Prabhat School overcame Indrayani 1-0 and Bishwo Gorkha Academy defeated Tarun 5-2. At Chyasal, Shree Jalpa School overpowered Ikita International 12-1, Mangal Deep beat Mahendra Rastriya School 3-1, Lovely Angels defeated Shanta Keshari Vidhya Mandir 4-0 and Phulchoki beat Koteswor Saraswoti 4-3 in sudden death penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw. — HNS

Chess tourney

KATHMANDU: Madan Krishna Kayastha beat Roshan Kumar Jaiswal to share the lead with Dilip Koju after the fifth round of the Mahanta Memorial Nationwide Chess Tournament. Kyastha and Koju have five points each. Jaiswal, Suraj Karmachari, Rupesh Kumar Jiaswal, Kishor Budhathoki, Moti Thapa and Robin Sunuwar are one point behind. Monalisa Khumbu and Santoshi Dangol lead the senior girls’ section with 4.5 points each. Sri Krishna Prajapati is leading with five points in junior boys’ section. Anju Lamichhane is on top with 4.5 in junior girls’ section. — HNS

World ITF C’ship

Lalitpur: A nine-member Nepal International Taekwondo Federation (ITF) team on Tuesday is leaving for Canada to take part in the World ITF Taekwondo Championship to be held in Qubec from May 31 to June 3. The team includes four players, three officials and an umpire. Laxmi Maya Gautam will participate in the Under-17 years Patron category at the ninth edition of the junior championship. Other three players — Raju Gartaula (58-68kg), Khem Bahadur Kanauje (micro 54kg) and Niraj Raj Poudel (63-70kg) — will participate in the sparring categories at the 15th edition of the senior championship. The four officials accompanying the players are Nepal ITF president Krishna Bahadur Balal, vice president Bhimsen Karki, general secretary Giri Prasad Budhathoki, also the coach of the team, and ex member Surya Bhattarai. Chetan Raj Giri, senior vice president of Nepal ITF, is selected for umpiring. National Sports Council’s member secretary Jeevan Ram Shrestha and NSC’s vice president Sita Ram Maskey bade farewell to the players and officials. — HNS

Khadka loses

KATHMANDU: The last remaining Nepali player Ganesh Bahadur Khadka lost in the first round at the 18th World Taekwondo Championships in Beijing on Monday. Khadka, competing in the bantam weight, lost 0-7 against Koksal Durusoy of Turkey. Three-time SA Games gold medallist Deepak Bista, Kumar Manandhar, Padma Gurung, and Abina Rai were already eliminated from the championship. The five-member Nepali team took part in the May 18-22 event. — HNS

Inter-bank volleyball

KATHMANDU: Hosts Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB red) and Kumari Bank advanced to the semi-finals of the Inter-bank Volleyball Tournament here on Monday. NRB red defeated Everest Bank in straight sets of 25-17, 25-15, 25-17 and Kumari Bank eased through to the last four with a 25-18, 25-15, 25-19 win over NRB blue. Machhapuchhre Bank will take on Rastriya Banijya Bank and Bangladesh Bank will face Agricultural Development Bank in Tuesday’s quarter-finals. — HNS