Sporty Spirit on Republica

• Last week, two Nepali national footballers — Anil Ojha and Shiva Shrestha — were suspended from their teams after behaving improperly with teammates. Both of them were drunk too to control themselves immediately after the second international match against Bhutan in Pokhara. Their behavior spoilt the victory celebrations.
• A few weeks ago, an up-and-coming cricketer Pradeep Airee was involved in an ugly brawl that left him with a bandaged head for a match in the MG Trophy in Birgunj. He was drunk and began the fight with his fans who were waiting to meet the cricket star late at night less than 12 hours before the match.

These are only representative examples of the behavior that some of our sportsmen demonstrate. Sadly, many such events aren’t reported; some of them are reported but the players go unpunished and no sports association provides orientation to the players for good social and moral public behaviors. Continue reading…

Bhutan’s national football team is in Pokhara for two friendly matches against Nepal. As expected, Nepal with its superior position in the FIFA rankings, won both the matches against the Himalayan neighbor.

For reasons best known to themselves, many football fans believe that playing against Bhutan is not very fruitful for the Nepali national team. However, I believe that hosting of a friendly is a positive step forward for the Nepali football for a number of reasons. Continue reading…

“Despite having good players, there is something lacking… The players don´t get to play enough matches. Expecting them to do well after playing only three 50-over matches is not justified… Two things I want to do are: hold two-day format national league and arrange for Nepali team to play in India…”

Those were the words of Binaya Raj Pandey recorded on September 30, 2006 — a day after he was appointed the president of Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN). Spoken at a time when the mismanagement and lack of cricket development initiatives had frustrated players and fans alike, Pandey´s words were quite soothing to the ear. Continue reading…

Long before the euphoria of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, the executive board of the International Cricket Council (ICC) accepted a recommendation that would ensure big money to the council, but ignore the overall development of the game.

Last October, the board approved that the 2015 Cricket World Cup (CWC) will consist of only 10 permanent nations and there will be no opportunities for other nations to participate in the tournament. Continue reading…

Consider this: The Wai Wai Women´s National Twenty20 Cricket Tournament concluded at the TU Cricket Ground with Region No 5 defeating Region No 6 in the final. Region No 3 and Region No 4 reached the semifinals of the league-cum-knock-out event that also saw the participation of Region No 1, Region No 2, Region No 7 and Region No 8.

Now, wait a second! Continue reading…

“We nearly beat Sri Lanka,” Roy Dias, Nepal’s long-time cricket coach told his wife Tharanga over the phone after the completion of the Asian Games 2010 match.

Tharanga was probably surprised, not only by the ability of Nepal’s team to put her country on the tight rope, but rather by the way her husband referred to Nepal as “we.” “We’re Sri Lankans!” she remarked. Continue reading…