Nepal Police honours Karate Champion Arika Gurung

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Oct. 11: Nepal Police honoured Arika Gurung, an international medal-winning karate player on Friday. Arika recently secured a historic gold medal for Nepal at the WKF Karate 1-Series A, held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from 3rd to 5th October. The event was organised by the World Karate Federation.

Competing in the women’s kumite over 68 kg category, Arika triumphed over Tesnim Msakni of Tunisia, Amalie Hakova of the Czech Republic, and Julia Daniszewska of Poland to claim the gold.

She defeated Hakova 7–0 in the semi-final and overcame Msakni 2–0 in the final. Arika is the first Nepali athlete ever to win a gold medal in the Karate 1-Series A. Meanwhile, Swonim Manandhar and Sabina Shrestha have been formally bid farewell ahead of their participation in the WKF Senior World Championship Qualifiers, scheduled to take place in Paris from 17th to 19th November.

According to karate coach Mandekaji Shrestha, Sabina will compete in the women’s under-55 kg category, while Swonim will represent Nepal in the men’s individual kata event. The athletes were honoured and given a ceremonial send-off by Additional Inspector General Siddhi Bikram Shah, the Executive Director of the National Police Training Academy and Member Secretary of the Nepal Police Sports Committee.