BIRATNAGAR, Dec 23: Five years after the completion of the last edition of National Games, Shahid Stadium of Biratnagar is all set to raise the curtain on the Seventh National Games to be held in various cities of the Eastern Region. President Bidya Bhandari is scheduled to inaugurate the eight-day sporting event on Thursday.
The Games originally scheduled to be held every two years, have been irregular since the fourth edition back in 1987. This year's games will be only the third edition of the games in 29 years. However, the biennial event started since 1981 had been successful in developing sports infrastructure in all regions of the country until the games' fourth edition.
While the Eastern Region is hosting the first-ever National Games, Shahid Stadium has been decorated and the final rehearsal for the inauguration ceremony were carried out until Thursday evening.
7th National Games officially begins
National Sports Council (NSC) Member Secretary Keshav Kumar Bista has said that all the preparations for the Games have been completed. According to Bista, the closing ceremony of the Games will be held at the ANFA Complex in Dharan. “The president is scheduled to inaugurate the event while the prime minister will close the games,” he said.
Security has been beefed up in Biratnagar for the president's visit. The inaugural ceremony will feature cultural shows, parade, dance and demonstratoin of sporting skills. School students, security personnel and sportspersons have been rehearsing for the inaugural ceremony. The stadium has undergone repair work and been given a fresh coat of paint.
The government has allocated Rs 200 million for the Games. However, the government has decided to give another Rs 70 million after the NSC said Rs 200 million was not enough. NSC had demanded additional Rs 110 million.
Among the 35 games included in the National Games, the Eastern Region will host only 30 events citing lack of infrastructure. Morang, Sunsari, Jhapa, Dhankuta, Siraha, Saptari and Udaypur are the districts hosting various events.
Pokhara will host tennis and triathlon games while fencing, swimming and bodybuilding will be held in Kathamndu. The competitions for swimming, triathlon and bodybuilding have already been held while football (men's and women's) have already started.
Event venues
Morang district will host table tennis, kabbadi, handball, hockey, shooting, soft tennis and cricket. Sunsari will host kho kho, sepak takraw, cycling, football, athletics, taekwondo, volleyball, wushu, basketball and full contact taekwondo. Similarly, Jhapa have been given the responsibility host, boxing, badminton, judo, ITF taekwondo and gymnastics. Spatari district will organize weightlifting while wrestling event will be held in Siraha, chess in Dhankuta and archery in Udayapur.
More than 5000 players --2303 men and 1669 women-- are competing for a total of 294 gold medals, 294 silver medals and 447 bronze medals.
