KATHMANDU, Feb 21: Nepal Shitoryu Karate Association Satdobato Branch Dojo is organizing the Invitational National Karate Championship from May 4 to 6 on the premises of the Dasharath Stadium.
Organizing a press conference in the capital on Tuesday, tournament coordinator Dipak Shrestha informed that the three-day event will feature 17 different events in men's and women's sections.
Altogether eight teams including three departmental teams - Nepal Police Club, Tribhuvan Army Club and Armed Police Force (APF) - and five regional teams will vie in in the tournament for 17 gold medals.
Female players will vie in 45 kg, 50 kg, 55 kg, 61 kg, under 68 kg and over 68 kg weight categories besides single kata and team kata. Similarly, male players will compete in 50 kg, 55 kg, 60 kg, 67 kg, 75 kg, under 84 kg and over 84 kg sections. Similarly, they will also vie in single and team kata.
The top three teams will be given Rs 50,000, Rs 30,000 and Rs 20,000 along with trophies. According to tournament coordinator Shrestha, the organizer will bear travel expenses of the visiting teams. The expected cost of the event to be held under the aegis of Nepal Karate Federation (NKF) is Rs 2.5 million.
Speaking on the occasion, NKF President Dawa Gurung said that they have made programs targeting upcoming 2019 South Asian Games (SAG) and 2020 Tokyo Olympics. “As it has been confirmed that karate will be included in Tokyo Olympics and we also have glorious history in SAG, we have made programs targeting SAG and Tokyo Olympics,” he said. “We will come up with at least one program (tournament) in a month and pave way for new talents to come,” he said adding that NKF was also planning to run four separate training camps for players rather than only for national team.
Karate team leaves for Japan
