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Member Secretary Lama admits mistakes

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KATHMANDU, June 11: National Sports Council (NSC) Member Secretary Yuvaraj Lama has admitted that he made a mistake by deciding to dissolve Nepal Amateur Athletics Association (NAAA). He also admitted his failure to solve the ongoing dispute regarding Nepal Olympic Committee (NOC).



Lama made such remarks at a press conference on Tuesday. Lama had dissolved NAAA presided by Rukma SJB Rana and led by general secretary Rabi Rajkarnikar two years ago after an athlete Surya Maya Rai, who had been to Japan to participate in the 19th Asian Athletics Championship, went into hiding. NSC had accused the NAAA committee of being a ´human trafficking racket´ and formed a new committee under the leadership of Nilendra Raj Shrestha. [break]



"We made a mistake then. It would have been better had we taken action against only the signatories rather than dissolving the NAAA," Lama said.

Lama also said that his leadership failed to solve the dispute over the legitimacy of NOC bodies. "We committed mistakes while tackling the issue. However, I´m clear that we can solve the issue if everyone takes a different approach toward the issue," said Lama.



Lama said NOC needs recognition from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) to function. "It is a fact and even Rukma SJB Rana knows it but we have to respect the verdict of the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, the NOC body recognized by IOC also has to be transparent and stop acting autocratic," said Lama.



He said that NSC has formed a seven-member committee under All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) President Ganesh Thapa to solve the issue.

"We are hopeful all the controversies would end soon," said Lama.



Two different NOCs -- one led by Dhruba Bahadur Pradhan and the other led by Rana -- have been claiming legitimacy. While the Supreme Court´s verdict of November 4, 2010 legitimized the Rana-led committee, IOC has recognized the committee led by Pradhan.



However, Lama didn´t make any clear statement about his controversial decision to register two parallel associations in taekwondo. Likewise, he gave ambiguous comments about ANFA President Ganesh Thapa receiving $100,000 from disgraced former President of Asian Football Confederation Bin Hammam.



Claims success

Lama claimed that his leadership is on the right track despite some weaknesses. He claimed that his leadership shifted the base of Nepali sports to schools and colleges, which Lama claimed as his greatest success.



He also said that the current NSC leadership has achieved success in starting infrastructure development programs.

"We have given priority to some good projects started by the previous leadership. We are investing to build Training Academy in Gauritar, Makawanpur but we have scrapped some unfeasible projects and plans," said Lama.



Lama claimed his leadership succeeded in establishing sports also as an academic subject. "We achieved success in introducing sports science curriculum at the +2 level and we are trying to convert Sports Academy of Nepal into a micro sports university," said Lama.

He also claimed that his leadership established a disciplined environment at NSC and formed regulations to ease official procedures within NSC.



Future programs

Lama also unveiled some ambitious plans for the future. "We will take next three years as investment years to develop infrastructure," said Lama. According to Lama, NSC will lead in constructing a stadium of international standard and a multi-purpose covered hall in Kathmandu.

"In the meantime, we´ll complete two cricket grounds in Mulpani. We´ll put new synthetic track at the Dasharath Stadium and establish some academies for martial arts games," said Lama.

He also said that NSC would lead in constructing a ground and semi-covered halls in all the 240 constituencies of the country.

"National Planning Commission has sought a three-year plan and we have submitted it. We hope we´ll get budget from the government and also assistance from our close neighbors India and China for these projects," said Lama.



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