Nepal at Asiad

If the 16th Asian Games, which is kicking off in Guangzhou, China on Nov 12 and continuing through Nov 27, is organized only half as successfully as the 2008 Beijing Olympics, our northern neighbor will add yet another feather to its already illustrious sporting cap. It is a foregone conclusion that China would top the medals tally and if that is topped by a successfully-organized Games then the country will cement its place as the foremost nation, whether it be in terms of competing in or organizing sporting events.



Where does Nepal figure in this talk? Unfortunately, we do not have much to look forward to in the Games despite a proven fact that we have raw talent, especially in the martial arts disciplines, who have the potential to bring laurels for the country if they are given proper training and a conducive environment. Unfortunately, that is where the problem starts. Raw talent, most of the times, has its limits. That can only blossom with proper training, care and attention. Unfortunately, with sports out of the government’s priority list and the sector mired in dirty politics more often than not, it is the athletes who have to suffer in terms of training and exposure.



Is this Games any different for us? Sadly, no. Until just a couple of weeks earlier, when all other nations participating in the Asiad were busy training their athletes to give a mega performance, the National Sports Council and Nepal Olympic Committee were at loggerheads over how many disciplines to participate in. Hence, to expect something extraordinary from the 140 players participating in 20 different sports is nothing but keeping our expectations a way too above the practical limits. Despite all that, we still hope that the grit and determination of some individual players might fetch us a few medals in martial arts. But, unfortunately, as things stand now, we do not see any of our athletes bettering Sabita Rajbhandari’s record of a silver medal in the 1998 Asiad held in Bangkok, Thailand.



It is never too late, though, to start traveling in the right direction, and which country can be a better example of that than hosts China. China won its first gold medal in the Olympics in 1984 and just 24 years later, when it hosted the Olympics in Beijing, it topped the medals tally beating sporting powerhouses such as the US and Russia. If Nepal gets serious now, there is no reason why it would not be doing well a decade or two from now, if not in the Olympics, at least at the Asian level.

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