ITAHARI, Dec 29: Tribhuvan Army Club on Wednesday claimed men’s volleyball title under the Seventh National Games being held in Itahari. Army overcame Armed Police Force in straight set of 3-0 to win gold.
“We have won in the final of volleyball after long time,” Army captain Deep Khadka said. “The victory in volleyball has proved that Army is not a weak team in any sports event,” he said referring to title drought Army has faced since long time.
Meanwhile, Nepal Police Club was awarded third place honors after Western Region did not turn up to vie in the third place match. On Tuesday, players of Western Region had manhandled referee Binay Rai after losing to Army in the semifinal. Following the incident, the organizers decided to hold the third place match only after written commitment from Western Region’s manager and coach that they would not let any such incident happen in the match.
Machhindra crowned A-Division champion for the first time
Meanwhile, APF team took home women’s volleyball gold defeating Central Region in straight sets of 3-0. APF had finished third in the last edition of National Games played in 2012. Western Region took home third place honors defeating Nepal Police Club 3-2.
Army, Far West win hockey gold
BIRATNAGAR: Tribhuvan Army Club and Far Western Region claimed men’s and women’s hockey gold in the Seventh National Games on Wednesday held in Biratnagar. Army overcame Far Western Region 2-0 in the men’s final. Satya Narayan Chaudhary put Army ahead in the 17th minute and Amit Sriwastab sealed the victory for Army two minutes from time in the 70-minute match. Central Region thumped Mid Western Region 8-0 for bronze in the six-team event played under league-cum-knockout format.
Far Western Region took home women’s hocky gold that featured four regional teams and Army besides Mid Western Region. Far Western Region overcame all opponents and accumulated eight points. Army secured second position with six points while Central Region stood third with four points. In the last day’s match, Far Western Region edged past Western Region 2-0 and Army beat Eastern Region 4-0.
Shooting
Army shooter Sushe Chaudhary claimed men’s 10 m air rifle gold scoring 186 points out of 200. He finished ahead of Olympian Tikaram Shrestha of Eastern Region who collected 183 points. Pawan Ghimire of Central Region stood third with 164 points. The same same event in the women’s section saw Asmita Rai of Eastern Region secure top place after being tied with Olympian Phulmaya Kyapchhaki. In the next round, both of them secured 10 points each but in the following round Asmita garnered 18 points, one point more than Phulmaya. Rusi Somai Magar of Mid Western Region stood third with 164 points.
Soft Tennis
The pair of Nirmal Kaji Sthapit and Chandra Maya Rai of Central Region secured mixed doubles gold in the last day of soft tennis in Baijanthpur, Morang. The duo overcame the pair of Eliza Ranjit and Pradip Khatri of the same region in the final. Eastern Region’s pair of Georgia Chaudhary and Dipendra Thapa Magar and Central Region’s pair of Kripa Sharma and Dharma Raj Ghale secured bronze medals jointly.
Lawn Tennis
Police players Samrakshak Bhusan Bajracharya and Mayanka Rana claimed men’s and women’s singles golds in tennis being held in Pokhara. Samrakshak overcame Kamal Bhandari of Army in straight sets of 6-2, 6-3 in the final while Mayanka overcame her sibling of the same departmental team 5-7, 6-4, 6-4. In the women’s doubles, the pair of Rana siblings eased past the pair of Ira Rawat and Abhilasha Bista in straight sets of 6-3, 6-3 in the summit clash. The men’s doubles final saw the pair of Kumar Adhikari and Anil Shahi of Western Region overcome APF’s pair of Sri Ram Magar and Santosh Khatri 7-5, 7-5.
