KATHMANDU, SEPTEMBER 30
Nepal's dismal show in the 19th Asian Games continued for the eighth straight day in Hangzhou, China with most of the players crashing from the first round.
Athlete Deepak Adhikari became the first Nepali player to break a national record in the ongoing Asiad when he set the new mark in men's 10,000-metre race at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre.
Adhikari - who won gold medal in the Asian Cross Country Championship held at the Gokarna Forest Resort in Kathmandu earlier this year - completed the race in 29 minutes and 35.06 seconds, breaking the previous mark of 30:30.99 set by Gopi Chandra Parki during the 2014 Incheon Asian Games.
Golfer Sukra Bahadur Rai pulled out after 48 holes due to back spasm. Rai, the lone Nepali golfer to make the cut after Friday's second round, withdrew after playing three holes of his back nine. Starting the day from the 10th tee, Rai took the turn at three-over 39 and saved pars on the first three holes of the back nine before pulling out.
Rai carded two-under 70 in the first round and played three-under 69 on the second day. The cut was applied at one-under 143 with three Nepali amateurs Subash Tamang (144), Sadbhav Acharya (146) and Yuvaraj Bhujel (155) crashing out early. Nepal finished 12th in the team event with the total score of three-under 429 in the 20-nation competition.
Nepal's hopes of winning a medal in esports ended when the PUBG team finished third in Group A semi-finals. The team of Subin Kumar Prajapati, Dipesh Gurung, Sahas Bhandari, Samir Gurung and Sangin Bhattarai had advanced to the last four stage as runners-up behind Hong Kong in the elimination round of the Peace Elite Asian Games Version.
The Nepali team was up against South Korea, Chinese Taipei and Japan in the Group A semi-finals but they finished third and crashed out. Nepal also faced a 2-0 defeat against Kyrgyzstan in DOTA2 competition.
In weightlifting, Nepali lifter Tika Maya Gurung crashed out in the first round. In Group A competition of the women's 55kg weight category, Gurung lifted a total of 146kg that included 60kg in snatch and 86kg in clean and jerk.
In women's volleyball, Nepal faced a 3-0 loss at the hands of Vietnam. Nepal scored just four points in the first set, while they lost 25-16, 25-13 in the next two. Nepal, who are taking part in women's volleyball for the first time, will face South Korea on Monday.
In triathlon, Nepal's Shrebi Maharjan finished 17th out of 21 participants. Maharjan completed the race - 1,500m swimming, 40km cycling and 10km running - in two hours, 25 minutes and 13 seconds. Four players from Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Cambodia and Jordan failed to complete the event.
In women's handball, Nepal faced a 44-19 defeat against India in Group B match. Skipper Bandana Rai netted seven goals, while Uma Rai scored six for Nepal. Kalpana Sinjali and Aait Lomu Sherpa scored two each, whereas Samjhana Kumal and Ram Kumari Chaudhary netted one apiece. Earlier, Nepal lost against China (57-10), Japan (62-10) and Hong Kong (27-18).
Nepal's challenge in boxing ended after Saraswati Rana faced a 4-1 defeat against Vietnam's Diem Quynh Luu in the quarter-finals of the women's below-75kg weight category. Nepal had fielded a total of 13 boxers in the Asiad after the National Sports Council put boxing in top priority along with karate and taekwondo.
A version of this article appears in the print on October 1, 2023, of The Himalayan Times
