KATHMANDU, Feb 24: Nepal National and International Players Association (NNIPA) felicitated veteran athlete Jeet Bahadur KC with the Iconic Athlete Award on Sunday.
KC, who had claimed bronze medal during the Asian Track and Field held in Manila in 1973, is the first Nepali athlete to win international medal. KC had participated in the 1972 Munich Olympics.[break]
NNIPA organized an award ceremony in the capital on Sunday and awarded KC Rs 30,000 and letter of appreciation. NNIPA has been felicitating veteran athletes with the award every year.
National Sports Council (NSC) Member Secretary Yuvaraj Lama, NNIPA President Deepak Bista, General Secretary Deepak Shrestha and Gajaraj Trust President Ram Joshi jointly felicitated KC.
NNIPA and Gajaraj Trust, established in the memory of late athlete Gajaraj Joshi, one of the Nepali athletes to participate in the First Asian Games in 1951, have a four-year sponsorship deal on felicitating veteran athletes every year with the Iconic Athlete Award. The First Asian Games held in India in 1951 was the first international participation of Nepal.
"NNIPA has been playing a crucial role for the betterment of players and in helping athletes in need," said KC after receiving the award. He urged athletes to unite and work together for the betterment of Nepali sports.
On the occasion, NNIPA also awarded 22 athletes with the Best Player of the Year-2068 Award in their respective sports. The awarded athletes are Deepak Maharjan (boxing), Ayasha Shakya (taekwondo), Ganga Devi Adhikari (karate), Sagar Thapa (football), Saroj Maharjan (judo), Shreya Dhital (swimming), Hira Bahadur Thapa (squash), Shyam Shrestha (bodybuilding), Kopila Upreti (volleyball), Nabita Shrestha (table tennis) and Anil Malla (weightlifting).
Likewise, Tilak Ram Tharu (athletics), Sohan Dhauvadel (soft tennis), Ajay Pandit Chhetri (cycling), Prabin Ojha (handball), Krishna Maya Syangtan (archery), Namrata Tuladhar (taekwondo union), Sangita Gautam (kabaddi), Pinky Jhanga (gymnastics), Kanchha Lal Waiba (full contact karate), Baija Nath Yadav (wrestling) and Chawochi Dangol (ITF taekwondo) were also awarded.
All the 22 athletes were awarded based on the recommendations made by the respective associations and their performances in the Nepali calendar year 2068 BS.
Addressing the award ceremony, NSC Member Secretary Lama lamented that the investment made by the state in sports has not been utilized properly for the betterment of players. "The current NSC leadership has been lobbying with the government to come up with programs for the betterment of athletes," said Lama.
Meanwhile, NNIPA General Secretary Shrestha requested NSC to take action on the associations that neglect players. "Some sports associations are found to be indifferent toward athletes´ plight. They even hesitate to recommend athletes for this award," said Shrestha.
On the same occasion, NNIPA felicitated its press advisor Ajay Phuyal for his service to the association.
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