Lalitpur, March 21

The Ministry for Youth and Sports today felicitated the youth cricket team members for qualifying to the ICC U-19 World Cup and making it to the quarter-finals.

The ministry had announced Rs 50,000 each to the members of the team that won the qualifiers in Malaysia last year and Rs 100,000 apiece to the squad that advanced to the quarter-finals of the World Cup in Bangladesh earlier this year. A total of 17 players, two coaches and a physio were felicitated.

Skipper Raju Rijal, his deputy Arif Sheikh along with Dipendra Singh Airee, Shankar Rana, Prem Tamang, Sushil Kandel, Sunil Dhamala, Kushal Bhurtel, Sandeep Sunar, Deepesh Shrestha, Yogendra Singh Karki and Rajbir Singh received Rs 150,000 each, while Ishan Pandey, Himanshu Dutta and Sandeep Lamichhane got Rs 100,000 apiece. Likewise, Saurab Khanal and Lalit Narayan Rajbhandari, who were omitted from the World Cup squad, received Rs 50,000 each. Chief coach Jagat Tamatta and physio Dinesh Bhatta received Rs 150,000 each, while assistant coach Binod Das got Rs 100,000.

Meanwhile, the ministry also felicitated ultra runner Mira Rai and bodybuilder Rujesh Shahi for their success in international arena. Rai won the Mont Blanc Ultra 80km in France, came second in Tromso Ultra 45km in Norway and bagged silver in Salomon Ultra Pirineu 2015 in Spain, while Shahi won silver in the seventh Bodybuilding Championship in Thailand in November last year in the men’s 55kg weight category.

Minister for Youth and Sports Satya Narayan Mandal, minister for Information and Communications Sherdhan Rai, National Sports Council member secretary Keshab Kumar Bista among others felicitated the players.