Soccerage President Upendra Shrestha, MYC President Upendra Man Singh and Premier College Director Radheshyam Khadka signed the deal to provide scholarship to the footballers at a press meet in Kathmandu on Sunday.[break]
According to Shrestha, the scholarship will be provided only to new football talents who have passed SLC.
As per the agreement, Premier College will provide scholarships to the selected players for two years and Madhyapur Youth Association will provide football training to them.
Meanwhile, Soccerage Club will provide Rs 20,000 for a player to the college and Rs 75,000 to MYA every year.
“Soccerage is providing Rs 20,000 for a player to pay examinations fee and other official procedure while college has waived tuition fees, admission fee and other charges as per the scholarship agreement,” said Anju Bhattarai, director of Premier College.
Suraj Thapa Magar, Yaman Rajbahak, Narayan Shrestha, Mukesh Duwal, Kishor Duwal, Sushil Koirala and Bibek Pratap Panta have been selected for the scholarship.
“This was our first step but we plan to take this campaign to other parts of the country in the years to come and provide scholarships to 15 players annually,” said Shrestha.
Shrestha said that the scholarship program is aimed at producing good footballers with sound academic background. “We´ll monitor the players´ progress. If we find them lacking in any aspect, we´ll counsel them. And, if players do not show improvement, we´ll terminate scholarship provided to them,” said Shrestha.
MYA President Singh said that the scholarship scheme will help young talents develop sporting skills and acquire education at the same time.
Undefeated Lama clinches Makhan chess title
Former national champion Surbir Lama on Sunday clinched the title of Makhan Cup Chess Championship. In course of his title run, Lama defeated Rajendra Kumar Parajuli in the final round to win the title becoming the only undefeated player.
Lama who had already won the title before the final round collected 11.5 points in total in the 13-round event. The winner of 15th National Chess Championship registered victories in ten boards and played draws in three.
FIDE Master Manish Hamal finished second defeating Rakesh Rauniyar. Hamal, with equal 10 points as that of third placed Rajendra Prasad Shrestha and fourth placed Rijendra Rajbhandari, finished as a runner up on the basis of SB point tiebreaker.
Rajan Puri with equal 9.5 points as that of Prem Krishna Maharjan bagged fifth place in tiebreaker. Puri defeated Asmita Adhikari and Maharjan saw off former national champion Nabin Tandukar in the last round.
Tandukar bagged six points and Shyamsundar Shresta garnered 5.5 points. Gyanendra Prasad Shrestha (four points), Rakesh Rauniyar (3.5 points) Tara Ghale, Rajendra Kumar Parajuli and Asmita Adhikari (three points each) and Suraj Pandit (2.5 points) added after the final round.
Altogether 14 players had participated in the event held on the round robin system. The prize will be distributed on Monday.
Mixed results for NASA
Holders NASA and Morgan opened the 10th Men´s and Ninth Women´s National Basketball Tournament on a winning note on Sunday at the covered hall of Dasharath Stadium.
NASA thrashed Navodit College 106-45 riding on 42 points of Robin Khatri. NASA led all four quarters 26-9, 33-13, 20-17 and 26-7 for the wide victory.
In another match, Morgan toiled hard to beat Bhanimandal 56-48. Asim Shreshta topscored with 17 points for Morgan. The lead taken by Morgan in first two quarters became the base for victory. Morgan was ahead 12-10, 16-6 in first two quarters while went down 12-15, 16-17 in other quarters.
Premier also started its campaign with a win in the women´s section. Premier thumped NASA, the runner up of the previous edition 70-24. Sadina Shrestha contributed 21 points for the winning side. Premier dominated the match from the beginning and was ahead in each set with 12-4, 16-5, 23-9 and 19-6 respectively.
Altogether 12 team in men´s section and six in women´s section have participated in the event. The participating teams are divided into four groups in men´s section to be held on league cum knockout format while women´s event will be held on the round robin basis.
Veteran rating chess from Saturday
The Second National Veteran (above 50-years) Chess Championship is all set to begin from Saturday at the District Development Committee, Lalitpur.
The rating chess approved by FIDE, World Chess governing body will be held until seventh round, under Swill League system. The top three players will bag a purse of Rs 5,000, Rs 3,000 and Rs 2,000 respectively.
Based on the result of the event, players will be selected to participate in international events, Nepal Chess Association (NCA) President Rajesh Hari Joshi announced amidst a press conference in the capital on Sunday. The organizer, NCA, has expected the participation of 50 players in total including 20 rated players. The expected cost of the tournament is Rs 125,000.
Kaski, Morang in semis
Kaski and Morang entered into the semifinals of Inter District Development Committee (DDC) Cup U-15 Football Tournament being held in Chitwan.
Kaski defeated Bara 4-3 in a tiebreaker on Sunday following a goalless regulation time. Meanwhile, Morang beat Kanchanpur 1-0 as Sandeep Rai scored the lone goal of the match.
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