Deepak Bista of taekwondo, Binita Maharjan of wushu, Santosh Sahukhala of football, karate coach Deepak Shrestha, differently abled athlete Arjun Sapkota, Debu Thapa of judo and Rubina Chhetri of cricket received awards in different categories while veteran athlete Komal Pandey won the lifetime achievement award amid an extravagant function. [break]
Award winners from each category received a purse of Rs 25,000, a Samsung digital camera, free installation of Dish TV, gift hamper from 100 Plus energy drink, free mountain flight from Buddha Air and room carpet from New Horizon. The nominees received gift hampers from 100 Plus and Timex wrist watches.
Khadka who won the Male Player of the Year award had guided the national cricket team to ICC World Cricket League Division-5 victory at home under his captaincy, which is one of the major feats of the senior national cricket team. He had scored 250 runs and hauled a wicket on the occasion.
Similarly, he had guided the team to the final of the ACC Trophy in Kuwait after eight years in his captaincy.
The other nominees in this category were the gold medalists of the 11th South Asian Games (SAG) -- Binod Shakya (karate), Rajendra Bhandari (marathon), Sunil Lama (karate) and Angbabu Lama (wushu).
"We could not have achieved success without the support of my team. The credit for this award goes to my team, family, coach and friends," Khadka said.
Ganga Adhikari won the Female Player of the Year award. She had won a gold medal in karate kumite at the 11th SAG. Adhikari dedicated the award to her parents, friends and coaches. Nary Thapa of cricket, SAG gold medalists Ayasha Shakya (karate), Jamuna Gurung (football) and Muna Basukala (table tennis) were other nominees in the category.
Binita Maharjan of wushu bagged the Youth Player of the Year award for her outstanding feat. She had bagged gold in thaulow tai chi chuan in the 11th SAG. She credited her father for her achievement and also thanked friends and coaches.
Anu Adhikari of karate, Nischal Pandey and Rahul Kumar BK of cricket and Anu Lama of football were nominated in this category.
Karate coach Deepak Shrestha took the Best Coach award. Shrestha was the coach of the Nepali team that won three gold, one silver and two bronze medals in the 11th SAG. He specially thanked his wife Sunita and the APF Club of the Armed Police Force on the occasion.
Other coaches nominated in this category were Roy Luke Dias of cricket, Narayan Yadav of athletics, Prakash Lama of wushu and Kyon Young Dal of taekwondo.
Footballer Santosh Sahukhala won the Popular Player of the Year award. Sahukhala was selected through SMS voting. He received 74,814 votes out of the total 154,062 votes cast.
Striker Sahukhala, currently enrolled with Manang Marshyangdi Club, is the highest paid player in Nepal. He had scored 19 goals in the last season of the Martyrs Memorial A Division League Football Tournament.
Ayasha Shakya of taekwondo received the second highest vote. Sahukhala thanked his family, friends and all his well-wishers for their support. Ang Babu Lama (wushu), Rajendra Bhandari (athletics), Rupak Acharya (golf), Sharad Vesawkar (cricket) and Jamuna Gurung (football) were the other nominees in the category.
Arjun Kumar Sapkota who won gold in the differently abled international table tennis tournament held in Bangalore, India was given the para-athlete award added in this edition of the award function.
Sapkota had won gold in men´s singles and bronze in men´s doubles in the 40-nation contest. He had lost one of his hands in a road accident during his childhood.
Judoka Debu Thapa won the bravery award. Thapa, a gold medalist hopeful in the 11th SAG, won bronze despite being hospitalized following a lift mishap in Dhaka. Thapa´s husband Machakaji Maharjan received the award on her behalf, as Debu is currently in Tokyo, Japan to participate in the World Judo Championship.
Rubina Chhetri of cricket was given the surprise magical performance award. Chhetri became the first Nepali cricketer to complete a hat-trick in the international level and claim five wickets in one over against Singapore in Malaysia during the ACC Women´s Trophy.
Singapore, needing only two runs for victory with five wickets in hand, could manage only one run as Chhetri took five wickets in the over to draw the match. Nepal won the match in the bowl out.
Meanwhile, the award ceremony also featured players walking the ramp. Likewise, artistes also performed dances and b-boying at the event.
Related story
Oscars 2019: Full list of winners
