Lama started aggressively and won the first and third sets 11-9, 11-8. But poor defense cost him dear as he lost the second, fourth and fifth sets 9-11, 8-11, 9-11. Lama had earlier lost two league matches on Saturday. [break]
"Lama put up an excellent show and we had inched closer to victory. But he failed to control the match," said Chaturananda Baidya, the president of Nepal Table Tennis Association. "We can improve if we give continuity to youth-oriented programs."
Tennis
Avishek Bastola was defeated in the very first round of men´s tennis on Sunday. He lost 6-0, 6-1 in straight sets to second-seeded Jurens Jesimo Mendoja of the Philippines in the match player under the scorching heat of 38 degrees centigrade at the China Tennis Academy.
Bastola said the opponent was stronger and more experienced than him. "He was strong as well as experienced. It was difficult to play against the second seed of Philippines. I was no match to him," said Bastola, adding that he might have done better had he acclimatized to Nanjing´s climate conditions.
He also pointed out the differences in courts. "Since we have been practising on clay court it will naturally be difficult for us to play on hard court," said Bastola.
On Saturday, women´s national champion Aslesha Lissanevitch had lost to an Uzbekistan player by the same score. Bastola and Lissanevitch will team up to play a mix doubles match in Hong Kong on Tuesday.
Despite the straight sets defeat, coach Krishna Raj Ghale expressed satisfaction over their performance. "I am satisfied with their performances because my players have not become familiar with this climate condition," said Ghale.
"It is difficult event for senior players to play in such temperatures. We could expect better results had we trained in this climate condition for at least a week," Ghale opined, adding that the technical committee postponed the match by a hour due to the scorching heat.
Judo
Judoka Himparwa Khatri suffered defeat in her very first nippon match against a Malaysian player. He was defeated in 1 minute 4 seconds by Md Fikri Mohammad in the four-minute bout. Khatri, who was playing his second international match, opined that he became a bit nervous in the match.
Khatri´s opponent was physically stronger than him. Khatri weighs 61 kg while Mohammad weighs 66 kg. "Khatri could not keep his opponent under pressure due to differences in strength," coach Hem Raj Bhandari opined.
Phupu Lhamu Khatri optimistic
Female judoka Phupu Lhamu Khatri is optimistic of winning medal in the games. Khatri is pitted against Jordan´s Dina Besio in women´s 57 kg category. "I am hopeful of winning medal," said Khatri who had come to watch the bout of Himparwa Khatri on Sunday.
This is her fifth international participation. She had won silver medal in the South Asian Judo Championship and bronze in the 2010 Asian Youth Junior Championship held in Thailand. She had also won bronze in her first international participation during the Rajiv Gandhi Memorial Judo Championship.
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