KATHMANDU, SEPTEMBER 26
The Nepal Tourism Amateur Golf Championship is all set to tee off here at the Gokarna Golf Club on Tuesday.
Players from Nepal, Bangladesh, Qatar and Malaysia will take part in the tournament that is divided into two categories - amateur and social, informed the organisers, Nepal Golf Association at a press meet today.
According to NGA Youth Development Director Deepak Acharya, a total of 36 players will take part in the world ranking golf tournament which features individual and team events. "We have included women's competition in the tournament for the first time and there will be five teams - two national teams and one each from Province-1, Bagmati and Gandaki - competing for the title," said Acharya.
Nepal 'A' and Nepal 'B' will be up against teams from Qatar and Bangladesh along with Gandaki and Province-I sides in the men's section.
The individual event will be played over 54 holes, while the team event competition will be of 38 holes. The 13th South Asian Games double gold medallist Subash Tamang and rising golfer Sadbhav Acharya are in Nepal 'A' team, while Tashi Tshiring and Wangchen Dhondup are in Nepal B team.
They will fight against Qatar's Selah Ali Alkaabi and Abdulrahman Al Shahrani, and Bangladesh national team players Liton Mondol and Mehedi Hasan.
Likewise, Kashmira Shah and Sushma Sigdel are in Nepal national team in women's section, while Sigdel and Sumitra Limbu are in Province-I team. Tara Chitrakar Karki and Prativa Rai will represent Bagmati Province, while Juny Gurung and Tika Gurung are from Gandaki Province. Sonia Akther and Ringkee Akther of Bangladesh will also compete in women's team event.
NGA President Tashi Ghale said the main objectives of the tournament were to celebrate world tourism day and contribute in the development of the sport. "We had received confirmations from many other countries but the event collided with other tournaments including one in India. And a couple of teams also pulled out because of coronavirus, dengue and flight problems," he said. Ghale said the NGA was committed in developing women's golf. "We have organised a couple of world raking tournaments off late and the NGA has plans to invest in women's golf," he said.
NGA Treasurer Kishan Agrawal thanked the sponsors and partners for joining hands with the association for the event. "We have estimated a budget of Rs 750,000 for the three-day event and we are grateful to our sponsors and partners for supporting the event," he said. "We have also managed mountain flight tickets for the winners amongst foreigners," he added.
Nepal Tourism Board, National Sports Council, Gokarna Forest Golf Resort, Gorkha Brewery, Royal Singi Hotel, R&A, IMS, Kelme, Yarshagumba whisky and Nepal Airlines Corporation are the sponsors and partners of the event.
A version of this article appears in the print on September 27, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.
