Nepal sail into semi-final in women’s Kabaddi

By A Staff Reporter,Hangzhou, Oct. 5: In the ongoing 19th Asian Games held in Hangzhou, China, Nepal's women's kabaddi team has secured at least a bronze medal. After defending champion Iran's 54-16 victory over Bangladesh in Group B on Wednesday, Nepal advanced to the semi-final, guaranteeing them a medal. This marks the end of Nepal's medal drought in Hangzhou. 

Nepal's women's kabaddi team won their first group match against Bangladesh with a score of 37-24 but lost their second outing to Iran with a score of 19-43. Despite the loss, Nepal finished second in Group B and advanced to the knockout round. In the semi-finals, Nepal will play against defending runners-up India, while Iran will play against Chinese Taipei on Friday. This is the first time Nepal is participating in women's kabaddi in the Asian Games. 

Apart from kabaddi, Nepal still has karate, dancing, wrestling, and rafting and canoeing to compete in the continental sporting jamboree. On Wednesday, Nepali shutter Rashila Maharjan lost to Chinese Bingjiao He with a score of 0-21, 7-21 in women's singles pre-quarterfinal match. Bishnu Katuwal, on the other hand, lost with his partner Nangsal Tamang in the mixed doubles to Chinese pair S Zheng and Y Huang with a score of 4-21, 7-21. Katuwal also lost along with Jeevan Acharya in Men's Doubles against the Singaporean pair JJ Nge and P Johann with a score of 1-21 and 4-21. 

In women's volleyball, Nepal lost 25-23, 26-28, 25-23, 25-17 to India in a four-set match. Before this, Nepal had lost to Vietnam and South Korea in the group-stage matches. After losing to India, Nepali women will now play against Hong Kong for the ninth place playoff. If they lose against Hong Kong, Nepal will be playing for the 11th place playoff.

Meanwhile, Nepal's long-distance runner Gopi Chandra Parki finished 11th in the men's 5000m race with a time of 14:22.15 minutes. Parki bettered his personal record of 14:54.20 minutes, which won him gold during 13th South Asian Games in Kathmandu. Bahrain's Birhanu Yemataw Balew clocked 13:17.40 minutes to set the Asian Games record and win the gold medal.