Kathmandu, March 26

The Nepal Athletics Association today felicitated Ajit Kumar Yadav and his coach Dhaniram Chaudhary for his historic achievement in the third Asian Youth Athletics Championship.

Yadav had won the 3,000m race with the timing of eight minutes and 30.32 seconds, claiming the first ever gold medal at the Asian level, in Hong Kong on March 17.

Amit Jangir of India was second in 8:36.34 and Gamil Al-Hamati of Yeman was third in 8:38.60 in the event which was participated in by 15 countries.

Rajendra Bhandari had won gold in 5,000m race in Asian All- Star Athletics Championship in Singapore in 2004 but that was an invitational tournament.

NAA President Rajeev Bikram Shah handed over the keys of TVS Suzuki motorcycle amidst a programme attended by representatives of business communities, bankers and sports officials.

Coach Chaudhary, who was present at the programme, will be honoured with Rs 100,000.

CEO of Nabil Bank Anil Shah announced monthly incentive of Rs 50,000 from five corporate houses. “We just discussed here and reached an agreement to provide our hero Ajit Kumar Yadav with Rs 12,000 each from Nabil Bank, Golchha Organisation, Ruslan, and Gold Star,” announced Shah. Annapurna Hotel later joined the list. “We will deposit the amount of Rs 60,000 in your account every month for a year. We want you to focus in your game and make the nation proud again and again,” he added.

Senior Vice-president of Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce & Industries Shekhar Golchha described Yadav as a bright star of Nepali sports. “It is a moment of pride for us and you need to put in a lot of hard works in future as the road ahead is not easy,” said Golchha, who is also the Executive Director of Hansraj Hulaschand and Co Pvt Ltd.

“Sports has always been the uniting factor among people.”

FNCCI President Bhawani Rana said corporate sector was ready to support sports and athletes.

“We need to encourage them and at the same time work for their betterment,” she said.

CEO of Annapurna Group of Hotels Raju Bikram Shah lauded Yadav’s achievement, while President of Nepal Hockey Association Umesh Lal Shrestha said the achievement was unbelievable.

CEO of Jawalakhel Group of Industries Raju Shah and National Sports Council Member Indira Niraula also congratulated Yadav for the achievement.

Meanwhile, NAA President Shah said the long-pending elective general assembly of the association was slated for April 7. “We had planned to hold the AGM last year but the NSC did not give approval then. We failed to get permission from the NSC despite our repeated attempts. We have to hold the AGM at any cost as the Asian Athletics Association has already sent a warning letter.”