Meanwhile, Nepal Sports Journalists Forum (NSJF) honored the national cricket team as the team of the year, dedicating a special presentation to the team during the opening ceremony. NSJF did not include the accolade as a separate category in this year´s award but was rather an effort by the organizers to honor the teamwork and team spirit of the cricketers, according to NSJF President Ajay Phuyal.
Captain Khadka left behind teammate Basanta Regmi, footballer Bharat Khawas, karateka Sunil Lama and athlete Tilak Ram Tharu to win the award for the second time. He had earlier won the award in 2010.
"It is an achievement for me to win this award in this environment, where all the best performers of Nepali sports are present," said Khadka after receiving the award. "I dedicate this to my team members because I couldn´t have succeeded without them ," he added.
Khadka thanked his family, and also thanked national team coach Pubudu Dassanayake for changing Nepali cricket and guiding it to one after another success.
Khadka led the national cricket team from the front claiming 12 wickets and scoring 89 runs when Nepal lifted the title of ICC World Cricket League Division 4. Under his captaincy, the Nepali cricket team also won the ACC Trophy and Khadka was declared the man-of-the-series for his 207 runs and four wickets during the tournament. He was also declared man-of-the-series when Nepal reached the final of the ACC T20 Cup for the first time. Khadka also enjoyed success at the domestic level as he led Armed Police Force (APF) to the titles of One-day and T20 national tournaments.
Dassanayake, architect of the recent success of the national cricket team, remained ahead of wushu coach Yuvaraj Gurung, karate coach Akbar Shah, athletics coach Nar Bahadur Shahi and swimming coach Ongden Lama.
Dassanayake´s technical assistant Raman Siwakoti received the award on his behalf as Dassanayake is on vacation in Canada.
Dassanayake guided the Nepali national cricket team to title victories in the World Cricket League Division 4 and the ACC Trophy Elite in 2069 BS. Similarly, Nepal reached the final of ACC T20 Cup for the first time in 2069 BS under his guidance. The coach is also credited for establishing the National Cricket Academy to shape the future of Nepali cricket.
Para-athlete award
Blind cricketer Bikram Bahadur Rana, who also participated in athletics event at the London Paralympics 2012, was declared the para-athlete of the year.
Rana, a Nepal Army soldier who lost his eyesight 10 years ago during the Maoist war, became the only Nepali athlete to participate in two world class events in a calendar year. Rana completed 100m sprint in 12.81 seconds and 200m in 26.95 seconds during the London Paralympics 2012. Both his timings are South Asian records in paralympics.
He was also the vice-captain of the Nepali team that participated in the World Cup for Blind held in Bangalore, India last year. He scored 58 runs and took a wicket against Bangladesh in Nepal´s only victory in the tournament. He scored 154 runs and took two wickets during the tournament.
Rana thanked his department and the Paralympics for his success in 2069.
Adhikari female player of the year
Karateka Ganga Adhikari won the player of the year award in female category leaving behind Asian bronze medalist wushu player Jharana Gurung, Nepal´s number one swimmer Shreya Dhital, women´s football team captain Jamuna Gurung and forward Anu Lama.
Adhikari won two international gold medals in 2069 BS -- one each at the Asia Pacific Shito-ryu Championship in Hong Kong and the Singapore Open in Singapore. Adhikari was also declared the best player in the 39th National Karate Championship.
"I´m happy to receive this award and I thank my department Armed Police Force, Nepal Karate Federation and all my coaches on this occasion," said Adhikari.
Bomjan adjudged best youth
World Junior Wushu Championship bronze medalist Chahana Bomjan Lama was declared the player of the year in the youth section. She beat swimming prodigy Shirish Gurung, national women´s football team player Niru Thapa, young shuttler Ratnajeet Tamang and U-16 cricketer Aakash Bista to the award.
Lama came to limelight after winning bronze medal in the World Junior Wushu Championship held in Macau. Lama defeated a US player 2-1 in the girls´ 60 kg weight category to claim bronze medal. However, Lama faced defeat in the semifinal after picking injury.
Gurung gets highest votes
Wushu player Jharana Gurung won the Popular Player of the Year award decided by public voting. She received 71,806 votes through SMS and Facebook likes.
National cricket team captain Paras Khadka, footballer Jagjeet Shrestha, swimmer Shirish Gurung and athlete Keshari Chaudhary were the other contenders. Swimmer Gurung received the second highest votes (14,560).
As per NSJF provision, four Facebook likes were equivalent to one SMS vote.
"I would like to thank all my supporters who voted for me, people from my hometown Pokhara and the wushu family. This award has encouraged me to do more for the country," said Jharana.
She ended an 18-year medal drought for Nepali wushu at the Asian level. She is the first player to secure bronze in the Asian Wushu Championship since Kamala Lopchan finished third in the event 18 years ago. Gurung also bagged bronze in the women´s 56 kg sansau event during the eighth edition of the Asian championship held in Vietnam last year. She had received a bye to reach the semifinals of the tournament as the tie-sheet was drawn based on the rankings of the participating players.
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