Kathmandu, June 15

Sirish Foundation and Hospital for Advanced Medicine and Surgery (HAMS) today struck a deal for the treatment of the athletes.

Sirish Foundation President and Olympian swimmer Sirish Gurung and HAMS Director Bhakta Pralhad Pandey exchanged the memorandum of understanding. As per the MoU, the hospital will provide medical health package including whole body check-up, medical examinations, pathology service, treatment and rehabilitation free of cost to the athletes recommended by the Foundation. The Foundation in return will endorse HAMS as its official partner.

HAMS Director Pandey said he was honoured to get the opportunity to be associated with sports fraternity through Sirish Foundation. “The athletes have a pathetic situation in Nepal regarding treatment when they get injured or face accidents,” said Pandey referring to the lift accident that happened before the 11th South Asian Games in Dhaka in 2010. “The players, who make the nation proud with their performances in international arena, are forced to take loans for their treatment,” he added.

Pandey said HAMS wanted to help the athletes in their treatment and create an environment where players can perform without any hesitation of getting injured. “We will provide the athletes with each and every service that are available in our hospital and we will charge them the actual cost if we need to hire or buy the services from others,” he said. “We will do everything for free under the recommendation from Sirish Foundation. We actually want to go together with the Foundation and this is the just the beginning.”

President of Nepal National and International Players Association Deepak Shrestha said the agreement would send positive message to the sports fraternity. “With this deal, the players will not need to worry about their treatment,” said the two-time South Asian Games gold medallist karate player. Shrestha said the National Sports Council had decided to open a hospital for athletes but doubted on the implementation part of the decision. “We have a serious doubt on the decision as the NSC has failed in implementing the decisions it took regarding the athletes’ farewell,” he said.

Sirish Foundation President Gurung thanked HAMS for the generous support to the foundation and the athletes. “It is a great day for us and we are lucky to get such a sponsor,” said Gurung, the swimmer who created national record in the 2015 Rio Olympic Games. “I think the athletes’ bodies function differently than other individuals and they need special care,” he added.

Sirish Foundation, established with the objective of producing champion athletes, has provided scholarship to wushu player Nima Gharti Magar. “We began with Gharti Magar and we are looking for three more athletes. We hope to grow in the future and we need support from all quarters of the society in our bid to produce qualify players for future,” Gurung added.