The success of Army Club players in fetching five medals, including one gold, for the country during First South Asian Beach Games held in Sri Lanka from October 8-14 heralds a metamorphosis of the team -- from the ceremonial role to that of competitive sports. [break]
“The medals our equestrian team won was not only the first in the history of Nepal Army but also the first in Nepal´s history,” said Brigadier General Ramindra Chhetri.
While other players of the Army Club have made their mark in Nepali sports, the skillful riders of Shree Nepal Cavalry had always been confined to internal competitions and the traditional Ghode Jatra festival.
Nepal Army spokesperson Chhetri told Republica that the army is positive about the participation of the cavalry unit in competitive sports provided that the National Sports Council and sports authorities create a favorable environment.
“It was within a short notice that our unit participated in the beach games. The results would have been much better had we trained our players for the event. Nevertheless, the success will give a message that we can achieve a lot in this field. Hopefully, the sports authorities will give priority to this sport now onwards,” he added.
While the army´s cavalry unit, Shree Nepal Cavalry, established about 162 years ago in 1849 AD has been keeping the tradition alive with the annual parade at the Tundikhel ground during Ghode Jatra, the unit is yet to transform into sports wing because the game itself is in a nascent stage in the country.
One of the major setbacks for the army riders is the absence of national level competitions. While Nepal Police also has cavalry unit, which is far behind the army in terms of competitiveness, only a handful of affluent civilians can afford to learn horse riding.
Nepal Equestrian Association (NEA), which was formed just two years ago, has largely remained inactive -- a fact which its president Balaram Shrestha admits.
“Although NEA was formed in good faith, we have remained inactive till now,” said Shrestha, who took the initiative to establish NEA in 2009 inspired by the sport during the 2006 Asian Games (Asiad) held in Doha, Qatar.
“We decided to form the NEA because equestrian is included in both the Asian Games as well as Olympics,” said Shrestha, who was a liaison officer for Nepal during the Asiad.
Shrestha said that the present nine-member executive committee of the NEA doesn´t have anyone having equestrian background. But buoyed by the success of the army unit, the NEA is planning to revamp its executive committee by including experts of the field from among the Nepal Army, Nepal Police, Armed Police Force officials and the civilians as well.
“We will soon reshuffle our executive committee and include experts in it,” added Shrestha, who is also the treasurer of Nepal Hockey Association.
Shrestha told Republica that NEA would be reshuffled within a month. He added that the NEA has forwarded its proposals to the National Sports Council and the departmental teams regarding this issue.
NEA is also keen to organize tournaments for both the army and the civilians in the coming days in order to develop the sport.
“We will issue our yearly calendar and also organize one or two tournaments once the new executive committee is formed,” said Shrestha.
“Our focus will be to include equestrian in the South Asian Games,” added Shrestha.
A source at the Shree Nepal Cavalry said that competing with the civilians will help promote the game.
As far as the civilian riders are concerned, Niraj KC, director of Wind Horse Stables, says there are a handful of skilled riders but there isn´t any competition.
“Hopefully, things will change in the future,” said KC, a keen enthusiast of horse riding, who has been involved in this field since 2000.
NEA left in the dark
Nepal Army´s equestrian team was the most successful team of Nepal during the First South Asian Beach Games held recently in Sri Lanka, but Nepal Equestrian Association (NEA) was utterly left in the dark about the team´s participation in the event by Nepal Olympic Committee (NOC).
NEA President Balaram Shrestha said that the NOC didn´t inform them about the participation.
NEA president Shrestha, however, expressed his gratitude toward NOC for giving an opportunity to the equestrian team to show their potential at the international level.
“We are a bit let down as the NOC didn´t inform us about the equestrian team´s participation. But at the same time, we also thank them for the opportunity,” said Shrestha.
NOC President Dhruba Bahadur Pradhan told Republica that NEA has not got international recognition and is not a member of NOC. Therefore, the NOC took the equestrian team to Sri Lanka as an Olympic team.
“We had announced the equestrian team´s participation from the beginning but no one came forward. It´s sad that the NEA is now expressing its dissatisfaction,” said Pradhan.
NEA president Shrestha argued that the NOC officials were well aware of the existence of the NEA.
Shrestha said that the NEA was registered at the National Sports Council (NSC) in 2009 during the tenure of Jeevan Ram Shrestha, who is currently the general secretary of NOC.
NOC´s decision to keep NEA in the dark comes at a time when it is advocating autonomy for the associations registered at the NSC.
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