19 Nepalis who stood out in 2018

Published On: December 31, 2018 07:25 AM NPT By: Republica  | @RepublicaNepal


Maheshwar Maharjan 

Maheshwar Maharjan won the gold medal in 75-kg weight group in the 10th World Body Building and Sports Championship held in Chiang Mai of Thailand from December 11 to 17. His feat came after 20 years of persistent practice of the sport. Maharjan not only won gold for himself, but also for the sport of bodybuilding which has 65 years of history in Nepal. Prior to this, Nepal had won only a silver medal in the world championship in this sport.

Sandeep Lamichhane

Sandeep Lamichhane continues to excel as a cricketer alongside the top performers of world cricket. Nepal achieving the much-coveted ICC-ODI-status only earlier this year makes it a compelling story of success against all odds. He will be best remembered for his bowling brilliance against the likes of Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma. Toward the end of 2018, Lamichhane played numerous prestigious leagues including the Indian Premier League, Big Bash League, T10 cricket league, Afghanistan Premier League, Global T20 Canada,Caribbean Premier League, Everest Premier League and Pokhara Premier League. He is also slated to play in Bangladesh Premier League and Pakistan Super League in 2019.

Shakti Gauchan

Nepali cricket’s all-rounder Shakti Prasad Gauchan retired from all forms of cricket on December 15. Pokhara Rhinos’ match against Chitwan Tigers during Everest Premier League at Tribhuvan University international cricket ground in Kirtipur turned out to be his final match as a professional cricketer. He retired from international cricket in July after playing the first-ever one-day international for the national team against the Netherlands. The lanky left-arm spinner has eight T20 international wickets and 18 List-A wickets to his credit. He was a top-order batsman when he started his career. He became the second Nepali batsman to score an international century when he slammed an unbeaten 106 off 103 balls against Italy during the ICC World Cup Qualifying Series in 2005. Gauchan’s greatest performance remains the immaculate spell of 10 overs where he conceded only two runs and took three wickets including eight maidens against Malaysia in the ICC World Cricket League Division 4 in Kuala Lumpur in 2012.

Pratima Sherpa

Eighteen-year-old golfer Pratima Sherpa was in Florida for a lesson with Golf legend Tiger Woods in 2018. From a maintenance shed in Royal Nepal Golf Club to being an aspiring pro, Sherpa rose to fame by winning her first professional tournament at the mere age of 11. ESPN has filmed a documentary about Sherpa’s golf journey. She attended the premiere in New York of a film made about her life learning the game while living in a shed alongside a golf course in Kathmandu in April.

Kami Rita Sherpa

Kami Rita Sherpa,48, hugged limelight in May 2018 when he became the first person in the world to climb Mount Everest 22 times. He was born in Thame village in Solukhumbu and worked as a porter at the mountainous region in his early 20s. His father was one of the first professional Sherpa guides and force behind his inspiration. As he grew up hearing the stories of Sherpas’ exciting expeditions, he also harbored the dream of climbing the highest mountain since childhood. Kami Rita chose to become a guide because ‘he did not have other career options’ due to the lack of education.
 
Uma Devi Badi

Born and raised in Thapagaun in Salyan district, Uma Devi Badi is a human rights activist. She led the Badi movement in 2007 and has been consistently fighting against untouchability, gender discrimination and other social biases. In 2007, around 500 Badi activists from 23 districts had started their journey from the villages to Singha Durbar, putting forward a 26-point demand under her leadership. On August 22, 2007, she led a procession from Maitighar to Singha Durbar. But when they reached the main gate, security personnel closed the gate. Irked by the police move, Uma Devi climbed up the gate semi-naked and started chanting slogans against the government. She was elected in 2017 as a provincial assembly member of Province 7 from the Nepali Congress. She was listed this year by BBC as one among the 100 top inspiring and influential women in the world.

Manita Devkota

Manita Devkota was born in Gorkha district in 1995. She later migrated to North Carolina for her further studies. On April 11, 2018, she participated in the Miss Nepal contest and won the title of Miss Nepal Universe 2018. Later, when she took part in the Miss Universe Contest, she made it to the top 10, becoming the first Nepali girl to reach such height.

Shrinkhala Khatiwada

Shrinkhala Khatiwada, Miss Nepal 2018, came to the limelight recently by making it to the semi final of Miss World 2018 held in China. Khatiwada, a topper from Pulchowk Engineering Campus, was a strong candidate for the title after the Nepali general public voted heavily for her throughout her Miss World campaign.

Ram Bahadur Kurumbang

Chief District Officer (CDO) of Bardiya, Ram Bahadur Kurumbang who originally hails from Fedap Rural Municipality-1, Tehrathum, came into limelight after he was conferred the Integrity Idol title on December 7. Kurumbang, who joined the government service in 1998, has already served in seven districts as CDO. He has worked in various roles, in different geographical regions and communities, drawing attention for his door-to-door policy to provide services to the citizens who do not have easy access to government services.

Gokarna Bista

Minister for Labor, Employment and Social Security, Gokarna Bista signed the memorandum of understanding with the government of Malaysia on October 29, 2018, breaking a two-decade long trend whereby the Nepali migrant workers had to pay a hefty amount of money for employment in Malaysia. The MoU ensured that the workers will not have to pay a single rupee for the procedure. Bista also played a crucial role in launching the Social Security Scheme of the Oli-led government.

Prem Sanjel

Under Secretary Prem Sanjel of Labor and Employment Office, Biratnagar, created hype on social media when he took a strong stand against corruption at his office. Sanjel has been supported and appreciated by the public when he expressed his commitment to stand against corruption after the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security tried to transfer him in December elsewhere for attempting to take action against five industries in Biratnagar that were not paying their workers the minimum salary.

Parag Pathak

In April, Parag Pathak became the first person of Nepali origin to bag the prestigious John Bates Clark Medal awarded annually by the American Economic Association (AEA). It is awarded to ‘American economist below the age of 40 who is judged to have made the most significant contribution to economic thought and knowledge’. Pathak, 37, is a professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology whose groundbreaking research proved that school choice can lead to improved student performance.

Harry Bhandari

Harry Bhandari was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates on November 6, 2018, becoming the first person of Nepali origin to win the general election. He secured 17.6 percent of the votes after advancing from the primaries on June 26, 2018. Bhandari’s win was widely celebrated by Nepali people on social media.

Sarita Chepang

Sarita Chepang set a precedent among the Chepang community by being the first nurse from the socially backward community. Sarita, who hails from Rorang Rural Municipality-10, is now 20 years old. While most of the girls in her community have already got married, she attained higher education, a far-fetched dream for girls of her community who get married even before sitting for the Secondary Education Examination (SEE).

Yuba Raj Khatiwada

Yuba Raj Khatiwada took to the central stage of Nepalese politics when he was appointed as the Minister for Finance in the KP Oli-led government. The appointment of Khatiwada, a technocrat, as the finance minister, was a rare occurrence in Nepali politics. But even though huge expectations were heaped on him, Khatiwada has not been able to deliver in the capacity of finance minister.

Ravi Oad

Ravi Oad, who originally hails from a financially weak family in Dhangadhi, won the hearts of the Nepali public through his singing in Nepal Idol season 2. He went on to win the reality show on December 21. Oad is also an actor and a dancer. But in a tragic circumstance, Oad was bereaved of his mother just in the following week after winning the show.

Menuka Poudel

Menuka Poudel,18, a visually-impaired girl from Jhapa who featured in the first season of Nepal Idol, took to Sa Re Ga Ma Pa 2018, a popular Indian Television reality show. There, she impressed everyone with her melodious voice. Although favored as one of the dark horses of the program, Menuka could not secure a place in the top 10 of the program.

Rup Narayan Bhattarai

The erstwhile Director General of the Department of Transport Management (DoTM) Rup Narayan Bhattarai played a crucial role to end the transport syndicate, winning huge public support. As the Director General of DoTM, Bhattarai had spearheaded the campaign against a cartel in public transportation. Bhattarai was transferred to the Ministry of Labor in May and mess returned to the transport sector.

Sima Basnet

One of the two victims of the horrifying acid attack of 2015, Sima Basnet, 20, returned home from a month-long journey in India to meet acid attack survivors. She traveled to several districts of Nepal to raise awareness against such attacks. Basnet also helped raise funds to help the survivors with their medical costs. She is joined by Sangita Magar, another acid attack victim. The duo is working to set up an organization against acid attack in Nepal.


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