Landmark In Sports Literature

As a much-sought for arrival, Nabin Aryal’s Nepali Khelkhudko Brittantra marks a fount of information to a sector that suffers from acute paucity of sports literature. Coming as it does from the pen of an established sports scribe with two decades’ experience, the book guides players and sports enthusiasts to a brisk informative tour of the sporting landscape covering a century. 

Writing a book on this sector is an onerous undertaking, as the records and data are scanty, sketchy and scattered. Some of the narratives are based on retold accounts not from the horse’s mouth but from secondary sources. Unfortunately, the same is the case even today. When the rudimentary stage of modern sports development dawned in Nepal basically in the earlier decades of the 20th century, a significant part of events and individuals involved in them stood deeply buried. 

An appraisal of the nation’s sports landscape can be divided into four fundamental phases. The first half of the 20th century was witness to informal sporting activity in disciplines like sprint, weightlifting, chess, football and cricket. The initial pace was erratic but the general direction indicated the growing interest of the youth, particularly in Kathmandu Valley and some major towns outside. 

Early days

Limited gatherings of youths, notably Rana family members, played football and cricket matches sponsored at palaces in Kathmandu and Laltipur. Volleyball, weightlifting, wrestling and chess were few of the games played at various localities in Kathmandu Valley and outside. Wrestling and boxing were not uncommon. Gen. Nara Shumsher Rana stands out as a prominent figure whose active presence on and off the field stands the tall during this sector’s formative period. Himself an active player particularly in football and wrestling, he took extensive interest in different disciplines. 

In the second phase (1951-1972) that birthed with the 1951 dawn of democracy, a marked progress began unfolding in terms of emergence of club teams, number of competitive events and development of infrastructure. By the early 1960s, teams were fielded in friendly matches abroad. More importantly, the country began to be represented at international competitions. 

The First Asian Games that New Delhi hosted in 1951 drew 11 national teams, including Nepal. Nepal’s competitive debut in the Olympics was at the 1964 Tokyo Games. After skipping the Mexico meet four years later, it has competed in every Olympiad since 1972 in Munich.

The second phase recorded the country’s first ever medal won in a major international competition, when Kumar Khadga Bikram Shah was member-secretary of the National Sports Council and President of Nepal Olympic Committee. Jit Bahadur KC’s success in collecting the marathon bronze in the 1973 Asian Athletics Championships in Manila was a turning point that caught the national attention and boosted the morale of Nepalese athletes. 

KC’s triumph came a year after his participation in the 1972 Munich Olympics. This was followed by a fast coming up marathoner Baikuntha Manandhar who constituted Nepal’s one-member contingent to the 1976 Montreal Olympics. He later picked the gold in a record three consecutive South Asian Games marathon run. 

Shah’s tenure (1967-77) was witness to a spurt in infrastructure development and frequency in sports events at home and international exposure for national athletes in foreign venues. The Dashrath Stadium, constructed with Chinese assistance, continues to serve as the country’s premier premises for major competitions. King Birendra’s coronation in 1975 marked a flurry of competitions covering various disciplines in different districts. 

By way of dramatic development and remarkable achievements, the third phase (1977 to 1988) represents Sharad Chandra Shaha’s innings as NSC member-secretary and Nepal Olympic Committee president. A big boost was given to infrastructure development. Covered halls for indoor games, open space for volleyball and some football grounds began to be available in various towns. This led to local tournaments as well as regular and diverse games contributing to national competitions. International participation also increased sharply; so did friendly matches abroad, which gave an essential exposure to the experience-starved players.

The 1986 Seoul Asian Games is remembered as Nepal’s momentous occasion when its contingent ended the nation’s long drought in Asian Games medal standings. It collected as many as eight bronzes—four each in boxing and taekwondo. In fact, the medal tally is yet to be improved.

National Games and the now-abandoned Inter-City Games were introduced. Participation in Asian Games and the Olympic Games became an uninterrupted feature not as a token representation but in fairly large numbers. It was also a period when Shaha’s relentless efforts aided South Asian Games to take off, with Nepal first floating the idea and also hosting the debut edition in Kathmandu at the request of member countries.

Shaha can be rated as the most successful visionary with the talent and energy for appreciable outcome. Various forms of martials arts, notably taekwondo, were among the highlights the Shaha team. In fact, martial arts continue to account for the most prolific medal collectors.

Tall and popular

During the glorious decade, the Shaha-led team comprised veteran footballers Bishnu Gopal Shrestha (treasurer), Dwarika Ram Bhagat Mathema, Kamal Thapa, Anup Shumsher Rana, cricketer Subarna Bahadur Chhetri and Buddhi Shumsher Rana. (only three of them served throughout the decade.)

Neither Jit Bahadur KC nor Baikuntha Manandhar stood on the victory stands at either an Asian Games or an Olympic event, but their careers have a pride of place in the annals of Nepal’s sports story. KC fetched the first international medal in 1973 and Baikuntha holds the South Asian record for nearly four decades, with a timing of 2 hrs 15 min 03 sec, set at the third South Asian meet in Calcutta in 1987. 

The fourth phase of Nepalese sports development can be considered from the 1990s to the present. New national tournaments have been added. Martials arts constitute the single-largest sources of medal wins in international competitions. Football not only remains a highly popular spectator game but its quality has also improved. Cricket is noted for taking a major leap forward. 

Aryal’s well-researched narrative in chronological order of major incidents and events are painstakingly pieced together. It serves as a very good reference source, sprinkled with rich nuggets of information. Published by Creative Books with copyrights credits to the Sharad Chandra Shaha Foundation, the book glows as the most comprehensive literature on Nepali sports. 

(Professor Kharel specialises in political communication.)