With Shakya´s victory, Nepal has now collected three gold medals, all in the women´s category, following the success of Manita Shahi and Yan Kumari Chaulagain in the opening day. [break]
Nepali male players, excluding Deepak Bista, have failed to win any medal in the international level since the 10th edition of the South Asian Games (SAG). Bista is the only male player of Nepal who has won gold medals for Nepal in the SAG from the 8th edition to the 11th and two bronze medals in the Asian Games.
In the current championship being held at the covered hall of the Dasharath Stadium, Nepali male players Rohit Tamang, Dipendra Thapa, Ram Giri, Tara Kumar Rayamajhi and Ashish Maharjan all finished in the second position by the end of the second day.
On Friday, three Malaysians and a Bengali player also won gold medal. Malaysia leads the medal tally with four gold medals, one silver and two bronzes followed by Nepal with three golds and six silver medals in the championship in which 10 countries are vying for 14 golds. USA is in the third position with one gold, one silver and two bronze medals.
In the final of women´s 53 kg category, Shakya defeated Jazzmyn Paguirigan of USA 9-2. Both the players failed to score any point in the first round. Shakya played aggressively in the second round and scored five points against one of the USA player.
Shakya had hit her opponent´s head but was not awarded any points initially. She was awarded three points by the jury only after her coach appealed for a review. In the third round, Shakya continued her aggressive form and scored four points against one of the opponent.
After the victory, Shakya said that she was delighted to win gold when other Nepali players were unable to keep the expectations of the home crowd. She dedicated the gold to all Nepalese. “I was confident of winning the fight when other finalists were not been able to win gold,” said Shakya, who had also won gold in the 11th SAG held in Bangladesh last year.
“Today was an unlucky day for Nepali players as they were all playing in red chest pads and I was also donning the same. But I was able to win the fight and secure a gold medal for Nepal,” Shakya added.
Shakya had also won gold medal in the All India Open and a silver medal in the Korean Open last year.
In the men´s above 87 kg weight category, Wong Vai Meng of Malaysia won gold medal defeating Ram Giri 9-2. Giri had defeated Mohammad Rasiul Kabir of Bangladesh in the first round 15-5 and Snoukar Hussain of Pakistan 6-5 in the semifinal. Meng had defeated John Drath of USA 3-1 in the semifinal match.
Another Malaysian Jamestee Chow Sheng won gold in the men´s U- 54kg defeating Tara Rayamajhi 12-5. Earlier, Sheng had thrashed Suraj Ali of India 13-2 in the semifinal. Rayamajhi overcame Chow Hokan of Hong Kong 9-8 in the semifinal.
Sheng´s compatriot Mohammad Afifuddin Bin Omar Sidek won another gold for Malaysia in the men´s 63-68 kg weight category with a 4-2 victory over Ashish Maharjan. Sidek had routed Mohammad Korban Ali of Bangladesh 11-1 in the semifinal match while Maharjan had outclassed Puduk Buchi 13-2 of India.
Nepal´s Pratigya Bhandari also settled for a silver medal. Bhandari was defeated by Shrboni Biswas of Bangladesh 10-8 in the women´s 62-67 kg category. Biswas had a direct entry into the final as there were only three players in the group. Bhandari, meanwhile, had defeated Isering Ongmu Bhutra of India 7-3 in the semifinal match.
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