Organizing a function in Kathmandu, the MoYS awarded seven players with Rs 100,000 each, while two players and two coaches were rewarded with Rs 50,000 along with a letter of appreciation.Karate player Bimala Tamang, the only medalist of Nepal in the 17th Asian Games held in Incheon, South Korea last year, cricketer Sompal Kami, taekwondo player Gyani Chunara, para-athlete Bikram Bahadur Rana, athlete Keshari Chaudhary, kick-boxing player Diwash Shrestha and volleyball player Binita Budhathoki were awarded Rs 100,000 each during the function.
Meanwhile, MoYS honored athletes Sunil Chaudhary and Pramila Chaudhary with cash prizes of Rs 50,000 each. Likewise, karate coach Sanju Maharjan and badminton coach Rajani Maiya Joshi were felicitated with Rs 50,000 each.
Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Bamdev Gautam, Minister for Youth and Sports (MoYS) Purushottam Paudel, MoYS Secretary and Joint Secretary Dipendra Nath Sharma and Choodamani Paudel, among others, distributed the awards.
After being honored by MoYS cricketer Sompal, who spoke on behalf of all the players honored, said that the honor was "pretty special" for him.
"Thanks for honoring me with the award and the day is pretty special for me," said Sompal, who added that Nepali cricket team always needs support from other sectors.
Sompal was one of the key member of Nepali cricket team who represented the country in the ICC World Twenty20 held in Bangladesh last year and played for the team in the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifiers held in Ireland and Scotland in July. He said that he was unhappy with the outcome of the Qualifiers held last month and he always wanted to win the tournament.
Nepal finished at the bottom of the group that comprised seven teams in the qualifiers and failed to qualify for next year's mega event to be held in India.
"We wanted to win matches but that does not always happen. We were prepared, did hard work and tried to play better but we failed," he added.
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