Kathmandu, November 29

With two days remaining for the 13th South Asian Games in Kathmandu, Pokhara and Janakpur, almost all competition venues are incomplete and the National Sports Council has not been able to provide the national associations with necessary equipment.

The NSC put its all efforts in preparing the Dasharath Stadium for the opening ceremony on December 1 and it successfully hosted the grand rehearsal this evening. But the sports governing body lagged way behind in importing sports equipment to conduct events and gears for athletes.

All the national associations of 26 sports disciplines had submitted the list of their equipment and gears to the NSC but the latter could not import them on time. While Nepali shooters are on the verge of losing the 25m Air Pistol event in the absence of proper ammunition, wushu players were forced to use kits from karate, taekwondo and boxing in training.

The situation is no different in table tennis. The venue to host the event, Lainchaur covered hall is in the final phase of renovation and the players were deprived of training on competition boards. “We do not have any complaint regarding our preparation part aswe had a foreign training in Thailand which went really well,” said women’s No 1 player Nabita Shrestha. “The training in Thailand helped us in getting mentally strong and we are bidding to win first gold medal since the first SAF Games. In previous editions of SA Games, we always set the target of winning silver medal as India is very strong in the region. But looking at the confidence level of the players in the team, we have are throwing everything to bag at least one gold medal this time around,” she added.

The undisputed champion in domestic circuit, Shrestha, however, was upset for not getting chance to train on competition boards. “We are playing at home but we could not make the most out of it.

We have not been able to train on competition boards to get the feel of it,” said Shrestha. “Now we do not have option to be mentally strong and give our best.”

Men’s No 1 player Santoo Shrestha said the Nepali players should have got the opportunity to play for at least two weeks on competition boards before going into the tournament. “The Games will be the same for Nepali players and others as everyone will be playing in the new competition board,” added Santoo, who was excited to compete in his first SA Games.

Shrestha joined the national team earlier this month following an accident in September.

Shiva Sundar Gothe, who is participating in the SA Games for the fifth time, said the environment was far better when Nepal hosted the eighth edition in 1999.

“I have not been able to enjoy the feel of South Asian Games this time around. It was far better during the eighth SAF Games,” said Gothe. “This is my last SA Games participation and I will try to give my best in the tournament,” said Gothe, who has bagged three bronze medals in previous four outings. Like his teammates, Gothe also complained of not getting the chance to practice on competition boards.

Coach Binod Shakya said he had high hopes from mixed doubles event. “Nabita Shrestha and Santoo Shrestha are the key players and we are pinning hopes on them,” said Shakya. “We have to accept the fact that India is too strong in our region,” who was worried about the training venue.

SQUAD — Singles: Santoo Shrestha, Purshottam Bajracharya, Nabita Shrestha, Raveena Maharjan; Doubles: Santoo Shrestha/Binesh Khaniya, Shiva Sundar Gothe/Purushottam Bajracharya, Nabita Shrestha/Elena Maharjan, Dikshya Tamang/Sikka Suwal; Mixed Doubles: Santoo Shrestha/ Nabita Shrestha, Shiva Sundar Gothe/Sikka Suwal.