Nepal progress to quarterfinals in Asian Games badminton

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Sept. 29: Nepali badminton players made it to the quarterfinals of the 19th Asian Games on Thursday while other Nepali players had a poor performance in Hangzhou, China. 

In the men’s team event, Prince Dahal, Sunil Joshi, and Bishnu Katuwal combined to win against Mongolia 3-1 in the pre-quarterfinal. 

Dahal defeated Gerelsukh 21-8, 21-14, Joshi beat Khuvituguldur Byambajav 21-11, 21-7, and Katuwal lost to Sumiyasuren Enkhbat 21-23, 24-22, 17-21. 

Dahal and Katuwal teamed up to win Mongolian pair Enkhbat Olonbayar and Zolzaya Munkhbaatar 21-8, 21-9 in men’s doubles, securing their spot in the quarterfinals. 

However, in the women’s team event, Nepal lost to the Maldives 3-1. Nepal’s Rashila Maharjan lost to Fathimath Nabaaha 22-24, 21-19, 13-21, while Aminath Nabeeha defeated Nangsal Tamang 21-16, 21-10 in straight sets. 

Anu Maya Rai won her singles against Aishath Afnaan 21-9, 21-11, but the victory was not enough for Nepal as the pair of Rai and Maharjan lost to Maldivian pair Nabaaha and Nabeeha 21-13, 21-19. Meanwhile, Nepal’s hope of winning a Taekwondo medal ended on Thursday as Jackie Yadav lost the pre-quarterfinal bout against Jordan’s Anas Sadek 2-0. 

Taekwondo is the discipline in which Nepal has achieved the most medals in the Asian Games, but Nepali Taekwondo players have remained medal-less for four consecutive Asian Games. Out of the 24 medals Nepal has won in the Asian Games, Taekwondo has achieved 15 medals, including one silver. The other silver medal Nepal won was in Paragliding at the Indonesia Asian Games. 

In boxing, Rabin Thapa lost to North Korean Chonryog SO in the men’s 51kg pre-quarterfinal. 

Swimmer Anusiya Tandukar failed to qualify from the heat round of women’s 50m freestyle, finishing in 26th position with a time of 29.53secs.

In table tennis, Nabita Shrestha and Sikka Suwal Shrestha lost their women’s singles matches. Shrestha lost to Indian Manika Batra 4-0, while Suwal lost to Japanese Miu Hirano 4-0 at Gongshu Canal Sports Park Gymnasium Table. They also lost their women’s doubles match against Chinese pair Meng Chen and Yidi Wang 0-3.  

The Nepali women’s football team ended their Asian Games journey with a 1-1 draw against Bangladesh in their last group match. Rekha Paudel equalized for Nepal seven minutes from the final whistle after conceding a goal in the 44th minute from Bangladesh’s Sabina Khatun. 

In fencing, Kazakhstan defeated Nepal 45-15 in men’s sabre and Japan thrashed the Nepali women’s team in the foil team quarterfinal. Nepal also lost the men’s team event in squash following their 3-0 defeat against India in Pool A. 

In Esports, Nepal competed in the Peace Elite Asian Games Version and finished in second place in Round 1. Subin Kumar Prajapati, Dipesh Gurung, Shahas Bhandari, Samir Gurung, and Sangin Bhattarai represented Nepal in Peace Elite.

In round one of women’s golf, Nepal’s Sushma Sigdel and Kashmira Shah finished in 36th and 38th place respectively. In the women’s team event, Nepal finished 13th in Round 1. 

Likewise, Sukra Bahadur Rai, Sadbhav Acharya, Subash Tamang, and Yuvaraj Bhujel finished their Round 1 in T31th, T38th, T47th, and T58th place respectively. In the men’s team, Nepal occupied T12 place in 

the 20-team competition.