Women’s Kabaddi keeps Nepal’s medal hopes alive

By A Staff Reporter,Hangzhou, Oct. 3:The Nepali women's national Kabaddi team kept Nepal’s medal hopes alive in the 19th Asian Games with a surprising victory over Bangladesh in Hangzhou, China on Monday. 

With a 37-24 victory over Banglades in their first match of Group B, Nepal now has a chance to clinch at least a bronze medal in Kabaddi. 

Led by Menuka Rajbanshi Nepal is grouped with defending champions Iran and Bangladesh, and if Iran wins over Bangladesh, Nepal will move on to the semifinals. Teams reaching the semifinals in Kabbadi are assured of at least bronze medals. The two semi-final losers will end up in third place and receive the bronze medal.

The Nepali women's kabaddi team trained for a month in India before joining the Nepali contingent in Hangzhou.  Nepal lost to India in the 13th South Asian Games, earning the silver medal. However, they managed to defeat Bangladesh during the same games. This is the first time that the Nepali women's kabaddi team has achieved a win at the Asian Games, and it's also their first time participating in the event.

After the victory, Captain Rajbanshi expressed her pleasure and said that the team was nearing their dream of winning an Asian Games medal in kabaddi. She also thanked everyone for including women's kabaddi in the Nepali Asian Games delegation. Rajbanshi is confident that Nepal will aim for victory against the defending champions in their second match.

Nepal to face India

Similarly, the Nepali national men's cricket team will face India for the first time in T20 International in the quarter-final match of the 19th Asian Games cricket. The match between Nepal and India will take place on Tuesday morning. This is the third time Nepal will be playing against India in a space of three months. Nepal met India A in the ACC Emerging Cup in July and contested in the Asia Cup held recently in Sri Lanka and Pakistan. 

Nepal registered a world-record 273-run victory over Mongolia in their first group match and eased past the Maldives by 138 runs to book a place in the quarter-final. In weightlifting, Sharad Chaudhary lifted 70kg in snatch, 88kg in clean and jerk, and 158kg in total, finishing fifth in Group B women's 64kg and crashing out from the group round. 

With Chaudhary's exit, Nepali women's challenge in the Asian games weightlifting ended. Tika Maya Gurung was another woman lifter from Nepal in Hangzhou, and lifters Bishal Singh Bista, Bikash Bhatta, and Sagar Bhandari are yet to represent Nepal's challenge in men's weightlifting.

The Nepali women's volleyball team lost to South Korea 3-0 today, and Korea only took 12 minutes to beat Nepal 25-21, 25-14, and 25-11. 

In the first match of Group C, Nepal lost to Vietnam 4-25, 16-25, 13-25. This is the first time that the Nepali women's volleyball team is competing in the Asiad. 

In athletics, Sombahadur Kumal completed his men's 800m heat round with a time of 1:50.38 minutes and exited the competition. 

In badminton, Nepal entered the pre-quarterfinal of mixed and men's doubles events. A mixed pair of Bishnu Katuwal and Nangsal Tamang defeated the Mongolian pair of Zolzaya Munkhbaatar and Kherlen Darkhanbaatar with scores of 21-16 and 21-17. Jivan Acharya and Bishnu Katuwal teamed up to beat Maldivian pair Nibal Ahmed and Mohamed Ajfan Rasheed with scores of 21-17 and 21-18 in the Round of 32. The pair of Prince Dahal and Sunil Joshi lost their men's double. In the other match of mixed doubles, Acharya and Nita Lamsal lost while Dahal and Joshi also lost their singles match.

Similarly, Nepal completed the mixed relay event of Triathlon in 11th place. 

In archery, Yogendra Sherchan and Imayung Rai crashed out from the men's and women's compound categories. Likewise, Tilak Pun, who won the round of 32, was eliminated from the Round of 16 in the men's recurve. Manju Bajgain crashed out from women's recurve. 

Elsewhere, a Nepali squash player lost to Malaysia and Thailand in mixed doubles today. In women's singles, Bipana Bhlon went down to Japanese player Akari Midorikawa in Round of 16.