Four of Nepali players were beaten in the final on Monday, limiting Nepal to four silvers on the 11th day of the SAG. Nepal concluded the journey of taekwondo competition with seven silver and three bronze medals.
Nepal had swept the taekwondo event, winning all 14 golds in the eighth edition held in Kathmandu in 1999, bagged six golds in the ninth edition, and two each in the 10th and 11th SAG.
On Monday at the Neigrihms, Indoor Stadium in Shillong, gold medalist of the 11th edition Ayesha Shakya was restricted to silver medal after facing defeat in the sudden death against India opponent Magerita Regi in the final. Ayesha had taken 2-1 lead in the first round, but second round ended on 6-6 that forced the winner to be decided by the sudden death in which Nepal went down by 3-0. Ayesha had defeated Bangladesh and Bhutan opponents earlier.
After failing to win the gold, Ayesha burst in tears. In the 11th SAG, Ayesha and her husband Deepak Bista had claimed gold medals in taekwondo.
Similarly, Nima Gurung was also restricted to silver medal in women's 53kg after facing 16-8 defeat against Indian opponent Latika Bhandari in the final. Earlier, Nima beat Sri Lankan and Afghani opponents.
Likewise, Saksham Karki was beaten in the men's 80kg final against Indian opponent Navajit Man by 7-1. Earlier, Saksham had defeated Kushung Wangdi in the semifinal by 10-3.
In the men's 63kg final, Bir Bahadur Mahara went down by 12-9 against Afghani opponent Ahemed Ali in the final. Earlier, Bir had beaten Sri Lanka's Dilsan Sanjiwa in the semifinal by 20-10.
Earlier, Yan Kumari Chaulagain, Gyani Chunara and Rejina Karki had won silver, while Sunil Paudel, Nishchal Man Shrestha and Ram Hari Mahat had clinched bronze medals.
Meanwhile, coach Deepak Bista said that Nepali players fought hard but failed to win gold due to less international match exposure.
"Our players did their best. However, we are still following the traditional way because we play international matches once in a year or two years that is why we are behind. We are not trained in the new techniques," said Bista.
Meanwhile, the South Asian Olympic Council meeting on Monday decided to hold the 13th SAG in Nepal in 2018.
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