ujjwal.acharya@gmail.com

Hail NPC!

Nepal Police Club (NPC) was confirmed as winner of the A Division National Football League with a game in hand after Three Star Club held Manang Marshyangdi Club (MMC) for a 1-1 draw at the ANFA Technical Center Ground, Butwal.

MMC needed a victory to make its last match against NPC a title decider, but, despite a big chance to make it happen, its foreign player Zambo missed a penalty few minutes before the final whistle. Continue reading…

The Ebbing Himal (news magazine)

Yesterday, I tweeted about new layout design of Himal Khabarpatrika – a fortnightly news magazine published by Kanak Mani Dixit (@kanakmanidixit) for Himalmedia Private Limited. The tweet was a summary of a small text placed in the magazine’s new issue saying that the particular issue onward the magazine has changed the size and layout.

http://twitter.com/#!/UjjwalAcharya/status/158576069035835392

I put a second line myself saying that the market has gone down for the magazine. It was my experience based more or less on my interpretation of some of the answers by Dixit in an in-house discussion published in its 300th issue (Deshko Mag – Nepali text).  Continue reading…

Beauty and ‘Beast’ of B division

Kudos to Sankata Club and Madhyapur Youth Association (MYA) for entering the top flight of Nepali football by finishing top two in the B Division football league. It´s a sweet revival for Sankata, the team that has a long experience of being in the A Division. For five-year-old MYA, it´s a laudable success, especially, as the team consists mostly of players from its own training program. MYA is also the first team from Bhaktapur district to get a place in the top level of the most popular sports in the country.

It´s sad that Birgunj Youth Academy Club, a team mentored by 49-year-old Ritu Shakya, failed to earn the promotion despite being the only undefeated team in the competition. They were en-route for qualification until their last match in which they were held to a draw by Mahabir Club, allowing MYA an opportunity which it did not miss. MYA was established by former national captain Upendra Man Singh. Continue reading…

The Tweeting Editors

Popular microblogging platform Twitter has become popular among the editors in Nepal.

Although the level of impact by the editors’ tweets is yet to be analyzed, they are expressing their opinions and debating on national issues on Twitter.

I follow as many tweeting editors as I could find with my Twitter account (@UjjwalAcharya) and it all went interesting last week when the editors exchanged views on system of governance (especially on directly-elected president). Continue reading…

Gang-fight? No, it’s football

The week´s biggest sports news was nothing sporty. It was a gang-fight inside a football ground between two well-known top flight clubs.

The ugly incident happened in Pokhara during the National Football League on Monday. The intensity of the unruly behavior of the players of Manang Marsyandi Club (MMC) and New Road Team (NRT) was such as referee Sachin Amatya had to expel five players from the match. Continue reading…

Reaction to disciplinary action

The Disciplinary Committee of the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) last week relegated Gyan Bhairav Club, banned it from playing the remaining matches of B Division National League, and slapped a fine for refusing to play the final six minutes of a match after a scuffle with the referee.

The club cried foul. It said It was neither asked to put forward its case at the committee before the decision was taken nor given any chance to appeal against the decision. It also claimed that the action was a biased decision as the club has broken away from another club, which is chaired by ANFA treasurer. Continue reading…

Open letter to CAN president

Dear Mr. Angbuhang,

Congratulations for becoming the first elected president of Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN).

This is indeed a great moment for you for at least two reasons. First, you completed the mandate given to you as the interim president of CAN within the stipulated time. Second, despite having no relation with cricket until a few months ago, the people who have devoted their lives in cricket elected you unopposed. Continue reading…

Social Media Diplomacy

American Ambassador to Nepal, Scott H DeLisi, is in the limelight – thanks to his Facebook page. His opinions expressed there are being quoted by Nepali mainstream media frequently.

While we have been reading his opinions on current political, and social, aspects of Nepal, his opinion against the strike called by Nepali Congress on Sunday created a controversy because the leaders of the old party discussed it in length during their Central Working Committee meeting and later expressed publicly that what he wrote was undiplomatic; and that he should not be giving public lectures of Nepali politicians. Continue reading…

CAN should ask questions

The Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) is busy planning for the general assembly and first-ever organizational election in its more than 50 years of history. It will elect a big executive committee full with promises.

I believe the first agenda that the newly-elected committee should take up is the review of the ACC T20 Cup and Nepal´s performance. Continue reading…

Kathmandu Statement on Internet & FoE

Kathmandu Statement is the outcome of the South Asian Meeting on the Internet and Freedom of Expression, held in Kathmandu from November 2 to 4, 2011.

The meeting was organized by the Internet Democracy Project, in collaboration with Point of View (India), the Centre for Policy Alternatives (Sri Lanka) and Global Partners and Associates (UK) and was participated by a select group of Internet and FoE activists of the region and UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression, Frank La Rue. Continue reading…