Among the 14 players, six were selected in the women´s category while the rest were selected in the men´s category during a selection tournament held at the covered hall of Dasharath Stadium. [break]
In all, three players made it through the selection round without competition as they didn´t have any opponents. Manita Shahi (women´s U-62 kg), Sujan Joshi (men´s U-63 kg) and Ashish Maharjan (men´s U-68 kg) secured automatic berths for the championship as they didn´t face competition from any one.
Other players selected in the men´s category are Tara Kumar Rayamajhi (U-56 kg), Rohit Tamang (U-58 kg), Anoj Pujari (U-74 kg), Dipendra Thapa (U-80 kg), Badrinath Basnet (U-87 kg) and Ram Giri (Above-87 kg).
Rayamajhi defeated Arun Adhikari 5-2 in the selection round to secure a spot for the championship. Likewise, Tamang saw off Ranjan Shrestha 4-1 while Pujari eased past Bharat Bohara 5-1.
Meanwhile, Thapa faced a tough challenge from Laxman Maharjan as he secured victory by a margin of one point scoring 6-5. Basnet too squeezed past Dambar Narayan Chaudhary with a score of 2-1. Giri had a relatively easy win as he dispatched Dipendra Kumar Gharti 4-1.
The players selected in the women´s category are Yan Kumar Chaulagain (U-46 kg), Apsara Karki (U-49 kg), Ayasha Shakya (U-53 kg), Gyani Chunara (U-57 kg) and Pratiksha Bhandari (U-67 kg).
Chaulagain outclassed Binita Tamang 9-0 in the selection. Karki also secured an easy 6-0 win over Sangeeta Shrestha while Shakya saw off Laxmi Rana 2-0.
Chunara defeated Renuka Magar 7-4 to make it through the selection round. Likewise, Bhandari beat Sangeeta Bassyal 11-7.
Altogether, 21 male players and 15 female players contested in the selection for the championship which is being organized by Nepal Taekwondo Association and International Nepalese Taekwondo Association, a US based association formed by Nepali taekwondo players.
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