Magar, representing the host Koteshwar Taekwondo Dojang, registered a narrow victory over Pranish Gurung of Eastern Region in the final of junior boys´ U-42 kg category. Magar edged out Gurung on the basis of referee decision after their title clash ended in a 6-6 draw.[break]
Amit Rai of Koteshwar ´A´ and Sumit Lama of Lalitpur finished joint third in the event. Satish Kafle advanced into the junior boys´ U-50 kg final defeating Amit Chaudhary of Kathmandu. He will vie for the title with Krishna Lama of Koteshwar ´A´, who ousted Suresh Lama of his club´s ´B´ team.
In the senior women´s section, Regina Karki of Nepal Police Club set up a title clash with Kajol Shrestha of Koteshwar ´A´ in the women´s U-46 kg weight category. Karki defeated Susmita Thapa while Shrestha saw off Rakhi Sharma en route to the final.
In the junior girls´ section, Binita Joshi of Eastern Region defeated Dipika Magar of Central Region to secure a place in the girls´ U-42 kg final. She will now face Lalitpur´s Pooja Adhikari, who defeated Pratima Rana of Koteshwar ´A´ in the semifinal.
Earlier, Minister for Youth and Sports Ram Kumar Shrestha inaugurated the two-day event. Altogether 153 players from 12 teams are competing in the tournament in senior and junior categories. There are nine golds up for grabs in the senior section and six golds in the junior category, according to Koteshwar Taekwondo Dojang chief Nabin Kumar Shrestha.
Olympian Lama felicitated
During the opening ceremony of the tournament, the organizers felicitated Olympian Bidhan Lama, who had secured bronze medal for Nepal in taekwondo demonstration during the 24th Olympic Games held in Seoul, South Korea in 1988.
Bronze medalist at the World Para Taekwondo Championship Yadav Kunwar, Olympian Narayan Gurung and senior taekwondo coach Namar Jung Gurung were also felicitated on the occasion.
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