Three nominees shortlisted for NSJF Pulsar Sports Award

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Feb. 10: The Nepal Sports Journalist Forum (NSJF) shortlisted three nominees each under four different categories for the NSJF Pulsar Sports Award 2079 being held on Sunday.

Organising a press conference, NSJF informed that the nominees were shortlisted for ‘best female player’, ‘best male player’, ‘best youth player’ and ‘best coach’ awards.

The NSJF had earlier nominated eight individuals each in the four categories. Of them, three shortlisted ones were made public on Friday.

“Three persons have been selected out of the eight nominees in the four categories based on their performances in the Nepali year 2079 B.S.,” said Prajwal Oli, general secretary at NSJF.

Eight athletes nominated for the ‘Best Male Player Award’ were Deepak Adhikari (athletics), Aasif Sheikh (cricket), Mukesh Pal (athletics), Rohit Paudel (cricket), Nasir Yahya Hussain (swimming), Man Bahadur Shrestha (volleyball), Subash Tamang (golf), Rupesh Jaiswal (chess) were the nominees named for. Of them, Deepak, Aasif and Rohit have been shortlisted.

Narrowing down the eight athletes nominated for the ‘Best Female Player Award’, Anusha Malla (basketball), Pushpa Bhandari (athletics) and Rajpura Pachhai (athletics) have been picked. Punam Shrestha (Judo), Jayarani Tharu (athletics), Shrebee Maharjan (triathlon), Duwana Lama (swimming) and Amisha Karki (basketball) were the other female players in the category.

The eight youths nominated for the ‘Best Young Player Award’ were Rammaya Budha (athletics), Sushma Tamang (boxing), Sujata Tamang (football), Unesh Budhathoki (football), Bijay Bata (boxing), Dev Khanal (cricket), Dipesh Kandel (cricket) and Sadbhav Acharya (golf). Of them, Dev, Rammaya and Sushma have been selected as the best three.

Regarding the coaches, Chandra Gurung (athletics), Dipak Maharjan (boxing), Bhagwati Rana Magar (football), Ananta Raj Thapa (football), Bharat Shah (volleyball), Ongden Lama (swimming), Jagat Tamata (cricket) and Monty Desai (cricket) were nominated at first. “Chandra, Dipak and Jagat have been shortlisted for the ‘Best Coach Award’,” the organisers informed.

‘Peoples’ Choice’ voting till Saturday midnight

Footballer Ananta Tamang, karate player Biplov Lal Shrestha, volleyball player Niruta Thagunna, table tennis player Sikka Suwal Shrestha and bodybuilder Rajani Shrestha were nominated for the ‘Peoples’ Choice  Award’ in January.

According to NSJF, with the award ceremony on Sunday evening, sports fans can vote for their favourite athlete until Saturday midnight. Sports enthusiasts can vote from eSewa and social media (NSJF Pulsar Sports Award and Pulsar Nepal’s Facebook pages).

Votes from eSewa will share a value of 50 per cent while those from social media are valued at 25 per cent. Likewise, the votes from head coaches of 27 games, those which Nepal plays on the global stage, and NSJF members will have a value of 12.5 per cent each while selecting the winner of the ‘Peoples’ Choice Award’.