However, their participation in the upcoming Sixth National Games is still uncertain as the National Sports Council (NSC) has an age bar in place that requires an athlete to be at least 16 years to participate in the National Games. Lissanevitch and Dhami both are under-16.[break]
There are many athletes, other than the two, suffering from the NSC´s newly introduced rule.
“When I took Ashlesha to fill the form from Lalitpur district, they rejected initially. When I insisted, they agreed to register, but her participation is still uncertain,” said Ashlesha´s mother, Kabita.
“If the rules of the game allow athletes to participate and they are competent enough to play at the senior level, why should NSC stop them,” said Kabita.
Meanwhile, Dhami´s father, Harak Singh, also expressed his frustration. “In this country, every parent wants their children to pursue a career of doctor and engineer and I could have also forced Dipesh on that. However, I not only supported him but also invested in his sports career,” said Harak Singh. “Why should I invest further in his sporting career if NSC stops him from participating though he is eligible to play as per the rules of the game?” questioned Harak Singh.
Rules of the badminton allow players above 14 years to compete at the senior level tournaments.
“Nepal Badminton Association (NBA) has already furnished evidences and rules of the game to the National Sports Council (NSC) to push for Dhami´s participation. NSC´s officials have been saying that they will take the final decision soon,” said Ramji Shrestha, the general secretary of NBA.
Meanwhile, NSC has not enforced the age bar in swimming and gymnastics. “NSC has decided not to enforce age bar in swimming and gymnastics. We are receiving complaints from other games also and discussing the issue,” said Narayan Yadav, the chief of the NSC Training Department and the member of the Sixth National Games Technical Committee.
The NSC´s age bar has also created problems for volleyball. “Many districts are facing problems to form women´s team because of the rule. As per the international practices in volleyball, junior players can participate in the senior level,” said Nepal Volleyball Association President Ganga Bahadur Thapa.
Thapa cited the case of volleyball player Sipora Gurung to support his argument. Gurung had participated in the 10th South Asian Games and won bronze medal at the age of 13.
However, NSC Member Secretary Yuvaraj Lama argued NSC´s provision as an attempt to bring the National Games under a system.
“We can´t let school kids participate in national championships. It is an attempt to keep things under a system,” said Lama. “Otherwise, sports associations will bring in school kids and turn the National Games to a mere formality,” he added.
When the cases of Lissanevitch and Dhami were presented to Member Secretary Lama, he said that NSC can make reservations in the case of the two athletes who have already represented country at international level or for those who are No 1 in their games. “We can make reservations for special cases otherwise athletes below 16 can participate in the National School Games,” said Lama.
Lama claimed that the NSC has been planning National School Games (Junior Championship) for future.
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