Among the 20 bronzes and one silver medal won by Nepal in the Asiad till date, taekwondo has fetched 13 bronzes and a silver medal.[break]
Ayasha Shakya, the 11th South Asian Games (SAG) gold medalist, and two other players who were Nepal´s medal hopes failed to live up to expectations on Thursday. Shakya, the biggest medal hope for the Nepali team in the 16th Asiad, could not resist Lebanon´s opponent during the last 15 seconds of her match.
Shakya was ahead in the whole bout against Lebanon´s Basbus Kosetto in the women´s U-53 weight category. She was leading 8-6 with only 15 seconds remaining in the third round when she conceded a face kick that gave Kosetto a 9-8 advantage. Shakya then came up with an offensive strategy, but once again received a face kick and the bout ended at 12-8 in favor of the Lebanese player.
Shakya attributed the defeat to her own mistake made during the last moment. She also expressed her disappointment at the referee´s decision saying that her opponent´s first kick had not touched her face.
"The first kick I received became the turning point of the game. Though she had aimed it at my face it did not touch me. Had the referee not awarded points for that kick, I wouldn´t have been aggressive and wouldn´t have lost the other three points," Shakya said, adding, "Now I don´t want to blame the referee after being defeated. I made mistake, so I lost the game. Luck did not favor me this time."
In women´s U-57 kg, Sabina Maharjan lost 5-4 to Isa Basna Ahmed of the United Arab Emirates despite giving a tough challenge to her opponent in every bout. She played a 3-3 draw in the first round but was behind by a point in the second bout, which cost her dear. Despite going down 3-0 in the first bout at one stage, she had made an impressive comeback to level the scoring at 3-3.
In men´s 80 kg, Yadav Bahadur Paudel lost to Afghani Olympian Nehsar Ahmed 15-3 to crash out from the very first round. Ahmed, who had participated in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, is considered one of the best players of South Asia.
"This level of performance from Paudel is satisfactory compared with the level and quality of his opponent. But he could have done better. He got nervous soon after knowing that his opponent was Ahmed. He used to perform far better than this during training," Nepali team coach Min Neupane said.
Regarding Shakya and Maharjan, coach Neupane said that luck did not favor them. "Shakya did not perform up to her level. Had she held the game for some more time, she could have won it," Neupane added.
Korean coach of Nepal Kwan Yung Dal commented that Nepali players proved to be weak and were technically and mentally not ready for international competitions.
Manita Shahi to compete Friday.
Another medal hopeful Manita Shahi will compete in women´s 62 kg for a semifinal berth on Friday. She directly entered the quarterfinals after receiving a bye in the first round. In U-67 kg, Rashna KC will compete against a South Korean opponent. She booked a quarterfinal spot as only seven players had registered for the event.
Likewise, Sujan Joshi will compete in U-68 kg against Iran´s player.
Related story
Tamata adds gold in triathlon
