Revision sought for Asian Games squad selection

KATHMANDU, June 7: Nepal Sports Council (NSC), Nepal Olympic Committee, and the Ministry of Youth and Sports have been requested to look into the selection of tennis squad for the forthcoming Asian Games to be hosted in Indonesia from August 18 to September 2. 

A group of Nepali tennis players has said that the selection was not fair, stating that winners of several domestic championships -- Prerna Koirala and Santosh Khatri -- were excluded from the list released by Nepal Lawn Tennis Association on Wednesday in Kathmandu.

The NSC had hosted a national championship seven months ago as a final parameter to finalize the tennis squad to travel to Jakarta. Prerna missed the tournament due to her participation at the ITF Competition in Bangladesh. 

Central member of the association, Purushottam Koirala, said that the two players -- Prerna and Santosh – should not have been excluded from the Asian Games squad. 

“The association knew she was on tour. We took the permission from the association to send her away to play, yet she was discarded from the selection just because of that reason,” said Koirala. 
Santosh criticized the selection policy of the association that took into account a tournament played seven months ago rather than the current form of players. 

“Seven months is a long time. It is neither scientific nor logical to select players based on old games. Talented players have been treated unfairly,” said Santosh.

In the women’s category, Mahika and Mayanka Rana are selected for the Asian Games, whereas Bhusan Bajracharya and Abhishek Bastola are selected for men’s division. 

Meanwhile, Nepal National and International Players’ Association and Nepal Players and Coaches Association have also asked for enquiries into the players’ selection.