KATHMANDU, April 6: The 5th National Games is all set to begin on Monday amidst a fanfare at the Dasharath Stadium. The event is making a comeback after 11 years and we look at the history of the sports event in Nepal.President Dr Ram Baran Yadav will inaugurate the Games at 5 p.m.
The Games officials have requested the Home Ministry for additional security measures in view of the banda by small communist parties. [break]
1940: Sports competitions to be witnessed by the public get introduced in Nepal.
1947: Different sports associations formed.
1956: National-level tournaments organized by the different associations.
1981: First National Games, organized by the National Sports Council; the games were supposed to be held every two years from here on, but only four editions have been held so far.
1981, 1984 and 1986: Games were held; 14 teams representing 14 zones.
1986-1999: National Games not held owing to the political situation in the country.
1999: Seven teams, with five teams representing the five developmental regions and two teams representing the Nepal Army and the Nepal Police, take part in the tourney.
2001: Fifth National Games canceled owing to the Narayanhiti Palace massacre.
1st National Games: The nine-day-long First National Games was held at Dasharath Stadium, from September 12, 1981. The first edition featured 16 events: athletics, badminton, baghchal, boxing, cricket, chess, kabaddi, gymnastics, table tennis, football, archery, weightlifting, volleyball, handball, body building and swimming. Altogether, 1,443 players, including 1,220 male and 223 female players, from 14 zones, participated in the tournament. Seventy-eight gold, 76 silver and 72 bronze medals were handed out. Bagmati won the most gold medals—44; Gandaki came in second; and Koshi took third place; Karnali finished last, remaining medal- less.
2nd National Games: The nine-day-long national tourney was held in Pokhara, from March 25, 1984, and it featured 19 events: football, shooting, athletics, badminton, table tennis, handball, tennis, gymnastics, weightlifting, bodybuilding, chess, baghchal, boxing, martial arts, hockey, cricket and volleyball. Folk dance and duet-song competitions were introduced. The players competed for 119 gold, 119 silver and 132 bronze medals. Bagmati secured the first spot with 50 golds; Gandaki came in second with 21 golds; Koshi was third with 18 gold, and Karnali brought up the rear end, with one bronze.
3rd National Games: The Third National Games was held in Birgunj, from March 6, 1986, and featured 21 events: football, folk dance, duet songs, shooting, athletics, badminton, table tennis, handball, tennis, gymnastics, weightlifting, bodybuilding, chess, baghchal, boxing, martial arts, hockey, cricket, volleyball, kabaddi and swimming. Altogether, 2,775 players including 2,037 male and 738 female athletes participated in this tourney, for 146 gold, 147 silver and 181 bronze medals.
4th National Games: The six-day-long Fourth National Games was held from March 22, 1999, at Mahendra Stadium, Nepalgunj (the games were back after an interregnum of 14 years). It was the first comprehensive national games to be held after democracy had been restored in 1990. Only 12 events, all of which were included in the eighth South Asian Games, were featured at this tournament: athletics, football, boxing, karate, kabaddi, shooting, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, volleyball, wrestling and weight lifting. Altogether, 1,622 players from across the country contested for 140 gold, 140 silver and 189 bronze medals.
5th National Games: The Fifth National Games was slated to be held in Kathmandu from June 3-8 June 2001. The event had planned as preparatory event for the ninth South Asian Games to be held in Pakistan. But the bereavement caused by the massacre in the then royal family on June 1, 2001 forced the organizers to abandon the event.
5th National Games (Second edition):
The National Sports Council has announced that the Fifth National Games will be held in Kathmandu from April 6-13. The games are being held after a gap of 11 years. A total of 3,173 athletes from all over the country will participate in 32 events. The regional selection tournaments are almost over, except for a few tournaments like cricket, chess, wushu and boxing.
There will be 192 gold and silver medals, along with 290 bronze medals, at stake in the team championship events. And 97 gold and silver, along with 210 bronze medals, are up for grabs in the individual events.
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