Butwal Elite beat Gem School from Sunsari 1-0 as Magar scored the decider through a free-kick from 35 yards in the 10th minute of the final match played at the Halchowk Ground.[break]
With the win Butwal bagged a purse of Rs 50,000 while Gem received Rs 25,000 as the runner-up.
Both the teams made several attempts on goal at regular intervals but could not find the back of the net. In the 15th minute Ujjwal Chemjong´s powerful strike from 18 yards was saved by Butwal Elite´s goalkeeper Srijan Shrestha.
Shrestha later saved a long-range free-kick from Hemanta Thapa in the 20th minute.
In the 25th minute, Gem replaced its regular goalkeeper with second choice keeper Jeevan Rai. Rai denied Gaurav Budhathoki´s header in the 30th minute.
In the second half, Gem labored for a comeback but the defensive tactics of Butwal Elite foiled its attempts. At the other end, scorer Magar´s powerful shot from the edge of the danger area was saved by custodian Rai in the 40th minute.
After the match, Butwal Elite coach Yam Prasad Gurung said that both the teams had equal chances of winning the match. "We adopted a defensive strategy after scoring the goal and made only few counter attacks. I am satisfied with the performance of the players," said Gurung.
Gem coach Indu Rasaily said that a goalkeeping mistake cost them the title. "It was tough playing under the midday sun and players got tired. However, I´m happy with the boys´ performance," said Rasaily.
Ranjan Thapa of Butwal Elite was adjudged player of the match while Bishal Gharti Magar received the award for player of the tournament.
Minister for Education Ganga Lal Tuladhar, CEO of tournament sponsor Mega Bank Anil Shah and PABSON officials gave away the prizes to the winners and runners-up.
Host AVM sets final clash with Army
Host Adarsha Vidya Mandir (AVM) and Sainik Awasiya Mahavidyalaya School reached the final of the ongoing Sixth SNB Memorial T20 Cricket Tournament on Sunday in the match played at Engineering Ground, Pulchowk.
AVM defeated DAV by 43 runs while Sainik beat English Preparatory School (EPS) by 65 runs to book berth in the final.
In the first semifinal match, EPS won the toss and invited Sainik to bat first. Sainik scored 147 runs losing five wickets in 20 overs. Kiran Shrestha scored 42 runs off 41 balls with a six and a boundary while Bikash Limbu added quick fire 22 runs off 14 balls and remained unbeaten.
Chasing the total of 148 runs EPS were bowled out in just 82 runs in 16.2 overs. Man-of-the-match Milan Karki grabbed three wickets in four overs conceding 13 runs. Prakash Bista was the highest run scorer for the losing team with 27 runs.
In another semifinal match, AVM won the toss and scored 104 runs loosing nine wickets as Bishwajeet Shah scored 25 runs. Ashish Jha took three wickets in his two overs to hold AVM in low score. Umanga Pradhan took five wickets in four overs conceding 13 runs in order to bundle out DAV at 71 runs in 18.4 overs. Shah took four wickets.
Earlier, AVM had defeated Brihaspati Vidhyasadan by six wickets in order to qualify for the semifinal against DAV.
MYA off to India
Madhyapur Youth Association (MYA) on Sunday left for Hariyana, India to participate in the Hot Weather Football Tournament.
MYA is directly put into the second round league where it will join five other Indian teams.
"We will play two league games and then semifinals if we qualify," MYA chairman Upendra Man Singh said. Singh further said that it would be a good experience for MYA before they play B division national league.
For the tour, Madhyapur Thimi Municipality provided a cash support of Rs. 100,000.
The 18-member team is led by MYA vice-chairman Asta Kumar Kawey while Manoj Ranjit will captain the team.
Central Open Golf begins today
Surya Nepal Central Open golf tournament will tee off today at Gokarna Golf Club on Monday.
The third event of the Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2011-12 will be played over 72 holes from Monday to Friday. There will be a cut applied after the completion of the second round. Only top 21 professional golfers and ties will make their journey to the final 36 holes along with top three amateurs.
Altogether, 27 pros will test their skills for total prize money of Rs 425,000. The winner of the event will bag Rs 90,000, the first runner -up Rs 57,000 and second runner up will receive Rs 45,000. Top 21 places and ties will earn prize money. Meanwhile, 10 amateurs will vie for the trophy in the tournament.
Nepal No 1 Shiva Ram Shrestha is the defending champion of the tournament.
If he clinches the title he will be the Nepali golfer with highest number of title. Shiva Ram and Deepak Acharya share the record with 10 titles.
Strong challenge will come from young and upcoming Ramesh Adhikari, who posted 8 under par card in the Ghana´s Open last month. Another challenge will come from Rabi Khadka, Rupak Acharya, Umesh Nagarkoti and veteran Deepak Thapa Magar.
NAA to launch ´athletes support campaign´
Nepal Amateur Athletics Association (NAA) citing inability to send athletes in the 19th Asian Athletics Championship and IAAF World Championships due to financial crunch has announced “athletes support campaign” on Sunday.
The association Secretary General Rabi Rajkarnikar, organizing a meeting with concerned agencies on Sunday, informed that it needs around Rs 1 million for participation in the championships.
“We´ll raise money from the campaign by selling around 5,000 raffle tickets worth Rs 250 each,” said Rajkarnikar.
The association had selected Chandra Kala Thapa and Tilak Ram Tharu for World Championships while Hari Rimal and Surya Maya Rai are picked for the Asian Championship.
“We have to send athletes at any cost. If we do not send athletes there, we´ll be listed in IAAF´s bad-standing,” said Rajkarnikar.
Rajkarnikar said that they came up with the raffle tickets scheme as getting sponsorship for games like athletics is difficult. “Sponsors are attracted only toward games that appeal the masses,” said Rajkarnikar.
According to Rajkarnikar, the campaign will begin on June 15 and end on June 30.
White House triumphs on home court
White House College, Baneshwar capitalized on its home court advantage to register win on Sunday that also boosted its chances of qualifying for the pre-quarterfinals of the White House Cup Fourth U-19 National Basketball Championship in the boys´ category.
White House beat Premier 55-39 in the first match of the day. White House dominated the game from the first quarter itself, taking the first three quarters 14-11, 12-8 and 13-12 respectively. By the end of the third quarter, White House had taken a eight-point lead and comfortably won the match despite a 16-19 loss in the fourth quarter. Asim Shrestha scored 15 points for the winning team.
Morgan College, a strong contender for the title, registered a comfortable 69-57 win over National Campus in the second match. Morgan won the first quarter 21-8 to take a 13-point lead. National then fought back to take the second and third quarters 24-16, 13-11 respectively and cut Morgan´s lead to three points. However, Morgan took the last quarter 21-12 and qualified for the next round. Sujan Pun scored 17 Points for Morgan.
NIMS beat CCRC 52-40 with the help of 21 points from Sandesh Tamang in the third match of the day. The first quarter ended 11-11 but NIMS took control of the game from the second quarter. NIMS scored 14-11, 15-9, 12-8 respectively in the last three quarters to register victory.
In the day´s last match, Times College routed Nalanda 63-47 with 20 points from Hisi Lama. Times lost the first quarter 4-13, but bounced back to take the second and third quarters 24-8, 22-10 respectively for a comfortable 19-point lead. Nalanda took the fourth quarter 16-13 but it was not enough for victory.
Meanwhile, the match between White House College and Xavier International College in women´s section has been postponed to Monday due to rain.
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