Young taekwondo players Gyani Chunara (women´s 57 kg), Arun Adhikari (men´s 54 kg) and Ranjan Shrestha (men´s 58 kg) will compete in the world championship.
"At the individual level, the world championship is a challenge for me. I needed to concentrate only on my performance during my playing days but I have to focus on the performances of these young players now," said Bista about his new role as a coach.
"We had good training sessions to prepare for this championship. In the last one month, we trained four times a day. I hope they will perform well and bring good results," he added.
Bista also said that participation in the world championship could give good exposure to the players for the upcoming South Asian Games (SAG) as well as the Asian Games.
"The 13th World Taekwondo Championship was the first international event I played in and the experience helped me a lot to create history in Nepali sports," said Bista, who won four consecutive gold medals in the SAG.
Nepal Taekwondo Association (NTA) General Secretary Deepraj Gurung also said that the association has selected the young players to give them good exposure. "Chunara and Adhikari were the best players of the recently concluded National Taekwondo Championship. We are giving exposure to these young players as we are taking the world championship also as part of preparations for the upcoming South Asian Games and the Incheon Asian Games 2014," said Gurung.
Players and expectations
The world championship in Mexico will be Chunara and Adhikari´s first appearance in an official international tournament. Similarly, Shrestha will be making his debut at the senior level in the championship.
For Adhikari, the International Friendship Taekwondo Tournament held in Kathmandu in 2010 was his first participation in an international event. Chunara had won silver medal in the First Mount Everest Taekwondo Championship two years ago. However, both were unofficial tournaments.
Shrestha had participated in the Youth Olympics held in Singapore in 2010.
"As a player we always expect to achieve medals but it is not easy. However, we can say we´ll put up a good show in Mexico," said Shrestha.
Adhikari and Chunara echoed Shrestha. "I´ve been training with the national team since the Sixth National Games. On that basis, I´m hopeful I can put up a good show," Chunara added.
"We have some chances of achieving success in the weight categories we are participating in. However, the participation is mainly for giving exposure to the young players," said NTA General Secretary Gurung.
Team leaves for Delhi
National Sports Council (NSC) and NTA bade farewell to the Nepali team on Tuesday amidst a function at the NSC premises. The Nepali team is led by NTA President Prakash SJB Rana, who will also participate in the general assembly of World Taekwondo Federation in Mexico.
"As taekwondo has achieved some of the biggest glories for Nepali sports in the past, the whole nation expects good results every time Nepali taekwondo players participate at the international level," said NSC Member Secretary Yuvaraj Lama. "Representing the nation is a rare opportunity and it´s a challenge for all the players to prove their mettle," he added.
The Nepali team flew to Delhi on Tuesday evening. The three players and coach Bista will stay in Delhi for a day to complete the visa process for Mexico.
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