KATHMANDU, Nov 7: A seven-member Nepali weightlifting team is leaving for Japan on Monday to participate in the Asian Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championship. The team includes two weightlifters and five officials.
Prakash KC and Kamala Shrestha will represent Nepal in the tournament that is scheduled for November 8 to 15. Prakash will participate in youth and junior category of male’s 62 kg event on November 11. Similarly, Kamala will take part in the junior category of women’s 58 kg on November 12.
Prakash’s best personal record is 93 kg in snatch and 120 kg in clean and jerk. Likewise, Kamala’s best personal record is 58 kg in snatch and 73 kg in clean and jerk events. The tournament will see the participation of more than 35 nations according to the Nepal Weightlifting Association (NWA).
Nepal to host weightlifting championship
Former Olympian and team coach Sunil Lal Joshi and manager Sanjaya Maharjan also flying with team. Similarly, NWA’s President Ratan Kumar Tandan and General Secretary Partha Sarathi Sen Gupt are also flying Japan with the team.
Tandan, who is also South Asian Weightlifting Association (AWA)’s vice-president, will take part in the Asian congress and executive meeting of the Asian Weightlifting Confederation that is scheduled for November 9. The congress will see the final bidding over youth, junior and senior weightlifting championships that will be held in July next year.
According to the NWA’s General Secretary Parth Sarathi Sen Gupt, the final decision over the hosts of those events also will be given in the congress. Nepal has also submitted its bid to host those events and there of strong chance of Nepal winning the bid, according to the General Secretary Gupt.
Earlier in the 2015, Nepal was given the opportunity to host senior Asian weightlifting Championship but the April and May earthquake that occurred same year forced to shift the event from country. Later, Thailand hosted that event in September same year.
Gupt, who is also the secretary of Asian Technical Committee (ATC)’s and member of Disciplinary Committee, is flying Japan to officiate the event. Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Youth and Sports’ Choodamani Poudel will join the team as representative of Ministry.
The officials of NWA bade farewell to the Japan bound Nepali team organizing program at Satdobato, Lalitpur on Sunday.
