The fallout began after one of the two coaches of the men’s team, Bimal Pokharel, did not see his name listed in the official squad. Sunil Rajkarnikar, the president of Nepal Kabaddi Association and the men’s team manager, was accused of asking organizers to strike out Pokharel’s name. [break]
“I lined up with the players for the pre-match introductions with Bangladeshi players,” Pokharel said. “But Rajkarnikar removed my name from the squad later on.”
This infuriated the coaches. “It was none other than Rajkarnikar,” women’s team coach Shanti Singh added. “He was also the one who struck off Dinesh Pal, a referee nominated by the National Sports Council (NSC) for the event.”
However, Rajkarnikar denied his involvement. “The organizers removed a name as only one coach is permitted for the team,” he said a few minutes before the organizers called out names of two coaches for the women’s team for the team lineup in the playing arena.
Rajkarnikar also claimed that Pal presented a fake certificate and was kept out by the organizing committee. “After the debate, I requested organizers to call out both coaches in women´s event,” said Rajkarnikar adding that one of them was not authorized to be present at the venue.
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