Nomination itself an achievement, say past winners
While the nominees for the Pulsar Popular Player of the Year 2067 are running campaigns to garner SMS votes in their bid to win the award, the previous winners of the award say that the nomination itself was like winning the award for them.
“Nomination itself was a great achievement for me. Winning it was a bonus,’ said Jumanu Rai, the national football team striker who won the inaugural edition of the award. Organizer Nepal Sports Journalists Forum (NSJF) had introduced the popular player category in the fifth edition of the Sports Award in 2064 BS.[break]
Volleyball ace Manju Gurung, who won the award in 2065, now fondly recalls the moment of nomination. “Being nominated among the best and popular players of the country was unforgettable,” said Gurung. “I got a huge public response in my hometown, Pokhara, after the nomination and I finally won the trophy as they supported me,’ she added.
Rai also received huge public response after winning the award. “Within the sports community and outside it, people started introducing me as the award winner,” said Rai. “I was already in the limelight through my game by then, but the award was another feather in my cap. I came to know what a huge fan base I have,” he added.
“’I was popular within my sport and in my hometown, but the award made me popular in the entire nation,” said Gurung.
Rai’s teammate in the national football team, Santosh Sahukhala bagged the award in the last edition. “I had expected to win the award after the nominations were made public. I was doing well in football, and the football fans helped me win the award,” said Sahukhala. “As the winner is decided through SMS voting, I got to know my fan base,’ he added.
Rai and Gurung think that the award added responsibility on their shoulders. “As I won the award, people not only treated me with respect, they also started expecting more from me in football,” said Rai. “I was more responsible after winning the inaugural award,” he added. Gurung also echoed Rai’s views, while Sahukhala said he has not experienced much difference before and after winning the award.
SIPORA GURUNG
Sipora Gurung has participated in more than 50 tournaments and rarely returned empty-handed. The national volleyball player says she received the best player award in her very first tournament about six years ago and that motivated her to give her best in the coming days. She has not looked back ever since, winning accolades not only at the national level but also in the international arena.
The 17-year-old athlete was a member of the Nepali national squad that won bronze medal in the 10th South Asian Games, Colombo in 2006. She was only 12 then. The only thing she rues is that Nepal Volleyball Association has not organized any international tournament after that and she is left to show her talent only at the local and national level. Nevertheless, her popularity is ever increasing and she has been nominated for the Pulsar Popular Player Award.
In fact, she has already become the most popular player, at least in her hometown, Pokhara, where she is invited to attend almost every public function and interaction these days in the run-up to the award.
The outspoken spiker says she is overwhelmed by the warm reception received from her well-wishers. “I was expecting support only from my hometown but I’m really glad that people from outside the city are also on my side,” she said about the support shown by the people of Nepalgunj, Chitwan and Dharan under the initiation of the district level volleyball associations.
“I would like to thank all my friends and well-wishers. Please support me and I will not let you down,” she said.
She recounts her most memorable moment in volleyball when her team Western Region came back from two sets down to defeat the title favorite Nepal Police Club in a five-set thriller during the 14th Women’s National Volleyball Championship 2064 in Hetauda.
Gurung attributes her success to her teammates and the support of her family and school. “It’s not possible to succeed in volleyball without the support of teammates. I’m also grateful for the support and understanding from my family and the environment provided by my school,” said Gurung, a twelfth grader at Fishtail Higher Secondary School, Pokhara.
Coach Balaram Chhetri
Volleyball coach Balaram Chhetri says that Sipora Gurung is not only good in her game but also exceptional in studies and discipline. “She secured 89 percent is SLC. She is also disciplined in studies as well as in her game,” said Chhetri.
As far as Gurung’s game is concerned, coach Chhetri says her powerful spikes and great jump make her stand out from the crowd. “She is among the very few girls in Nepali volleyball who can perform jumping service,” said the coach.
Coach Chhetri says he has high expectations from Sipora. “I’m certain that she is one of the best players of Nepal. She will definitely contribute a lot to the country,” said Chhetri.
He, however, added that Gurung needs support from all sectors if she is to make the country proud at the international level. “The government must organize more tournaments and all sectors must join hands so that her talent can reach the next level,” he said.
SAGAR THAPA
Sagar Thapa, 25, is the captain of the Nepali football team that recently qualified for the final round of the upcoming AFC Challenge Cup and defeated East Timor in the first round of the 2014 World Cup Asian Qualifiers.
Thapa, also the captain of ‘A’ division club Himalayan Sherpa, is a regular member of the national side. The defender had made his debut in 2003 for the national team against Vietnam in the Asian Cup Qualifiers.
He was one of the key players when Manang Marshyangdi Club won the Martyrs Memorial League in 2062 BS. He was equally instrumental when New Road Team (NRT) won the first leg of the league in 2067 BS and participated in the AFC President’s Cup held in Bangladesh last year. He has won 35 caps for the national team till date and is the most experienced player in the team.
“I received huge public response after the nomination. More and more people came to know about me after the nomination.” said Thapa.
“The award has helped me to develop cordial relations within the football community and outside. Friends and fans have started campaigns to support me. The award has united football officials, players and fans,” said Thapa.
“I think I’m representing the whole national team and football fraternity in the award and it’s a great achievement. If I win the award, that will be a huge bonus,’ he added.
Coach Upendra Man Singh
Upendra Man Singh, former national captain and coach of Himalayan Sherpa Club, describes Thapa as one of the talented players of the country.
“Sagar is a talented defender of Nepal. He has speed and strength that a good defender should have,” said Singh, who is also an assistant coach of the national squad. “He is a good leader and has been proving it through the national team. He can motivate teammates as he always tries to understand their problems and step forward to solve them,” he added.
Coach Singh is excited to see Thapa nominated for the award. “I’m happy to see Sagar representing the whole football fraternity in the nomination but I feel sad to see the current trend of campaigning for SMS voting,” said Singh. “Organizers should set up a system of one mobile one vote to make it fair,” he added.
DEEPAK MAHARJAN
Deepak Maharjan knocked out his opponent in his very first bout in a boxing tournament in 2063 BS and also succeeded in becoming the national champion. That victory became the turning point of his career. The Asian Games bronze medalist says his parents were not happy with him initially when he decided to take up sports as his career. But they changed their minds after seeing his name and picture in newspapers following the victory in his very first boxing tournament.
He joined sports in 2054 BS with shitoryu karate, which he continued for two years. He then played kick boxing and kyokushin karate for a year each in 2060 and 2061 BS. The national champion of kyokushin karate in 2062 and silver medalist of South Asian Karate Championship 2005 finally switched to boxing in 2062 BS as he didn’t see a good future in kyokushin.Despite winning five national championship titles and a bronze in the 2010 King’s Cup in Thailand, the boxer came into limelight only during the 16th Asian Games held in Guangzhou of China last year, where he was the only Nepali athlete to bag a medal.
The 27-year-old boxer is one of the five nominees for the Pulsar Popular Player Award and is expecting tough competition from volleyball player Sipora Gurung and footballer Sagar Thapa.
“I consider Sipora Gurung and Sagar Thapa as my strong competitors,” said Maharjan, who has received support from his village folks and the colleges affiliated to Tribhuvan University (TU).
The boxer from Bosigaun, Kathmandu said he has the support of his villagers as well as the people of Lalitpur. He further claimed that all the colleges affiliated to TU are backing him in his campaign to become the popular player of Nepal.
“My supporters have printed 60,000 pamphlets appealing to vote for me, and those pamphlets have been distributed to all the government colleges affiliated to Tribhuvan University across the country,” he added.
Jayaram Maharjan, 29, Deepak’s elder brother said that he was very happy for Deepak’s nomination but they have not launched a big campaign.
“We have requested friends, close relatives and locals to vote for him. But the system of selecting popular player of the year through SMS votes is not good as a single person can send as many SMSes as he wishes. The wealthy nominees can easily win the award. It would have been fair had there been a system of allowing only one SMS vote from one SIM card,” he said.
Coach Prachanda Sharma
“My view that Deepak is a good player isn’t baseless because he has already proved his worth in the Asian Games,” said coach Prachanda Sharma.
Coach Sharma says that Maharjan has all the qualities of a great boxer. “He has the confidence and doesn’t back off in a game,” said Sharma.
The only drawback that Sharma sees for Maharjan is that he doesn’t get sufficient practice. Sharma believes that Maharjan can qualify for Olympics if he gets proper training.
“Being nominated for the award itself is a great honor, but Maharjan truly deserves to win it because he saved the reputation of the country during the 16th Asian Games,” he added.
RAHUL BK
If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead anywhere. Nepali cricketer Rahul BK probably understands this more than anyone else and continues to work hard despite obstacles.
BK had been out of the game for two years after facing a chucking allegation during the ICC U-19 World Cup 2008, Malaysia. The ICC World Cricket League Division-5 held in Kathmandu in February 2010 was his comeback tournament at the international level. And, he proved to be the key player in his team’s success as Nepal won the Division-5 tournament. He took seven wickets in the final match against the US to seal the title victory. “It is the most significant event in my career,” said BK.
However, he was hungry for more success and continued to work hard toward that goal.
He took 21 wickets in the recently concluded ICC U-19 World Cup Qualifiers in Ireland. He had taken 33 wickets in Nepali calendar year 2067 BS. He had claimed eight wickets in the ICC World Cricket League Division -4, four wickets in the 16th Asian Games and 21 wickets in the ACC U-19 Elite Cup, Thailand.
He was the key player when Nepal finished the ACC tournament in second position. He gave away just 15 runs and took eight wickets against the home team Thailand in the age group tournament. It was the best figures by a Nepali bowler at the international level in any age group tournament.
With all these records in his name, BK has been nominated for the Pulsar Popular Player of the Year 2067.
“I’m obviously happy to be nominated but I’m not running any campaigns except on Facebook,” said BK. “It’s a sort of recognition for my performance,” he added.
Coach Jagat Tamata
Coach Jagat Tamata is happy to see Rahul BK nominated. “He is not an ordinary bowler, he is a quality bowler. In the context of Nepal, he is a gem with his sublime form at present,” said Tamata.
“He has developed variations in bowling, and for me he is one of the Nepali cricketers who can play at County level in England,” he added. However, coach Tamata thinks that BK should control his aggression if he is to achieve much more than what he has accomplished so far.
SHREYA DHITAL
“I’ll try to challenge some national records in the future,” Shreya Dhital had said about two months ago after claiming 11 golds in the 16th National Open and Age Group Swimming Championship held in June.
She duly kept her words setting two national records, one of them during the 14th FINA World Championships that concluded recently in Shanghai, China.Dhital swept aside her opponents again to claim 11 gold medals again in less than two months during the 11th Galaxy Cup Age Group and Open Swimming Championship held last month.
The 16-year-old swimmer completed the women’s 100 meter freestyle in 1 minute 10.72 seconds in Shanghai in course of breaking the previous national record set by Runa Pradhan 12 years ago. She also completed the women’s 50 m butterfly in 34.75 seconds in the 11th Galaxy Cup to break the previous record of 35.05 seconds set by Nayana Shakya in 2002.
“My parents, especially my mom, love swimming. They are behind my success,” Dhital had said after her 11-gold haul in the 16th National Open and Age-group Swimming Championship.
Dhital’s consistent performance has ensured her rise as a prominent swimmer in the country over the past four years.
Her mother Anita says that she has been swimming since her childhood days but her formal training began about five years ago. “She was motivated after winning a few medals in school-level competitions when she was just 11-12 years old,” said Anita.
Shreya’s mother said it felt really great to see her daughter win so many medals and get nominated for the Pulsar Popular Player Award.
Shreya’s achievements did not come out of the blue for her parents who were well aware of her hard work over the years. “The results were not unexpected because she was good at swimming and hardworking from an early age,” added Anita.
Coach Yubaraj Sunuwar
Coach Yubaraj Sunuwar says that he sees great potential in Shreya but there is still room for improvement. “I see devotion, dedication and the desire to do something in her. These three Ds are the key to success,” said coach Sunuwar.
“She is technically sound but there is still a lot to do for her improvement,” added the coach who has been training Dhital for the last five months.
Coach Sunuwar says that Dhital has been training regularly in the evening after her classes end.
“She sometimes even skips her classes for training. She is eager to train, but we do not have proper training facilities here. There isn’t any heated pool here,” he said.
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