Kathmandu, August 1:

IMS Tele Trade Pvt Ltd, the authorised distributor of Samsung mobile phones, signed taekwondo ace Deepak Bista as the brand ambassador of Samsung.

Sports enthusiast Tashi Ghale, President of IMS Tele Trade Pvt Ltd and Bista signed the memorandum of understanding at a programme today. Ghale provided Bista with a Samsung mobile phone worth Rs 10,000 and Rs Rs 200,000 in cash.

As per the agreement, Bista will endorse the brand for six months and the company can use Bista and his images in the promotion campaign of the mobile phones.

Ghale also announced to provide the olympians with the Mesuca kits before heading for Beijing to participate in the Olympic Games. The Nepali contingent is scheduled to go to Beijing on Monday.

Ghale said the Nepali players needed support for the success in the Olympics and urged all the people to pray for the athletes.

Thanking the IMS Tele Trade Pvt Ltd, Bista promised of performing to his level best to win hearts of the Nepali people. “I have been receiving supports from different sectors and I can not let them down,” he said.

Bista qualified for the Beijing Olympics becoming the only second Nepali player to qualify for the Olympics, while other seven - judoka Debu Thapa, lifter Kamal Bahadur Adhikari, shooter Fulmaya Kyapchhaki, athletes Arjun Kumar Basnet and Chandra Kala Thapa, swimmers Karishma Karki and Prasiddha Jung Rana - received wild card entries.

On the occasion, Tej Rai, President of Hong Kong NRN Chamber of Commerce, presented Deepak Bista with the cash reward of Rs 50,000 through Nepal Olympic Committee President Dhruba Bahadur Pradhan.

Pradhan said the Nepali people were pinning hopes on Bista. “Apart from Deepak Bista, we are also hoping good results from shooter Fulmaya Kyapchhaki,” he said. “Other players are also doing good in training and we expect them to at least break the national records in their disciplines,” he said.

Nepal Olympic Committee General Secretary and Member Secretary of National Sports Council

Jeevan Ram Shrestha, Marketing Manager of IMS Tele Trade Pvt Ltd Rajeev Shrestha, Vice President of Nepal Taekwondo Association Prakash Shumsher Rana and General Secretary Deep Raj Gurung among others were present on the occasion.