Nepal to play Kuwait

KATHMANDU: With the semi-final berth already secured in the ACC Trophy Elite Cup, Nepal will play hosts Kuwait in their last Group A match at the Hubara grounds on Tuesday. While victory on Tuesday will send Nepal

to the last four as the group winners, defeat could at worse see the team progress as runners-up to either Hong Kong and Oman. Even if Nepal lose, they could end

up as the group winners depending on the net run rates of the winners of Tuesday’s another match. As both Hong Kong and Oman have four points, only one of the two teams can match the points with Nepal. Nepal have won all three matches to top the standings.

Maharjan loses

KATHMANDU: Deepak Maharjan of Nepal lost 7-2 against a South Korean opponent during his men’s 81stkg category bout in the King’s Cup Boxing Tournament in Thailand on Monday. Maharjan was already assured of the bronze medal after entering the last four with a victory over Singaporean boxer in the second round on Sunday. This is the first time Nepal have won a medal in the King’s Cup. Three other Nepali boxers Dinesh Shrestha (57kg), Sushil Ghimire (64kg) and Laxman Saud (51kg) were all knocked out on Sunday.

Team departs

KATHMANDU: A 23-member Nepali handball team on Monday left for Dhaka to participate in U-21 IHF Challenge Trophy slated for April 6-10. Among the players are Bishal Basnet (captain), Bipin Bista, Roshan Gurung, Bimal Thapa, Sujan Sherchan, Fuldev Chaudhary, Ashwin Poudel, Dhiraj Singh, Rabi Magar, Surya Prakash Bhatta, Prabin Ojha, Kishan Bhattachan, Robin Ale and Jitendra Chand. Arun Lal Karna is the the coach, Bhimsen Shakya the assistant coach and Ram Krishna KC the team manager. Apart from Nepal, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Oman will compete for the championship organised by the International Handball Association. Six others - Jivan Basnet, Tek Bahadur BK, Rajesh Acharya, Damodar Bhattarai, Shyamraj Singh and Gopal Magar - also accompanied the team to Dhaka where they will undergo various training programmes, informed the Nepal Handball Association.