NEPALGUNJ: The opening day of the three-day strike called by the Unified CPN Maoists severe affected sports activities here on Sunday.

The national hockey team, preparing for the 11th South Asian Games early next year, were unable to join their regular training after the cadres of the Nepal Republican Sports Federation padlocked the main gate of the Nepalgunj Stadium . The padlocking also affected the selection of the British Gorkha Cup football tournament slated for December 23 to January 13 in Kathmandu.

The All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) have been selecting the players who will make a joint team of the Far West and Mid West Region for the British Gorkha Cup. The selection matches had to be played at the Mangal Prasad cricket ground following disurbance on Sunday. A total of 30 players from Banke, Bardiya, Surkhet, Dang, Kailali and Kanchapur are participating in the selection programme.