Rai wins opener

Kathmandu: Durda Kumar Rai beat Sunil Gurung 6-3, 6-3 in the inaugural match of the first APF Open Lawn Tennis Tournament on Sunday. In other men’s singles first round matches of the day, Rohit Sunuwar defeated Raju Rai 6-3, 6-2; Bhim Tamang beat Gauri Shrestha 6-2, 3-6, 6-2; Sovit Man Shrestha outplayed Rajat Pradhananga 6-4, 6-0; Subrat Basnet overcame Rajat Shrestha 6-1, 6-2; and Roshan KC overwhelmed Shashank Shrestha 6-1, 6-2. Also, winning were Gaurav Shah, Amul Regmi, Tribhuvan Bista, Siddhartha Moktan, Raju Adhikari and Pratap. Shyam Sundar GC and Suyash Rajbhandari earned walkover wins. — HNS

NNIPA issue warning

KATHMANDU: Nepal National and International Players Association (NNIPA) on Sunday called on to the Youth and Sports Ministry and National Sports Council to pave way for the ‘A’ Division League Football. The NNIPA demanded the authorities to hold the league or else face severe consequences. “Thousands of players along with numerous other people related to the sport have been deeply affected since the row between the ANFA and clubs started,” said the NNIPA release. The NNIPA said that they would take to the street if their demands are not met. — HNS