SPORTS BRIEFS: Ex-minister Thapa reaches final

KATHMANDU, Oct 27: Former minister Kamal Thapa entered the final of the 45 plus age group in the Veterans´ Tennis Tournament being held in the Indian capital New Delhi on Wednesday.



Thapa pulled off a 6-2, 7-6 straight sets victory against defending champion KL Setu in the semifinal. [break]



Setu is number one among Indian veterans. Thapa will take on M Suresh of Andhra Pradesh in the final.



Dhan Bahadur Memorial chess begins



Dhan Bahadur Pradhan Memorial FIDE Rating Chess Championship kicked off in the capital on Wednesday. Purushottam Chaulagain, Gyanendra Khaiju, Bikas Kuluju, Bivek Lama, Rupesh Jaiswal, Prajwalraj Rajopadhyay, Prakash Chandra Lama, Nikesh Duwal and Nabin Jaiswal won their respective matches during the first round of the championship.



Meanwhile, Nepali veteran Sitaram Agrawal also won the first round match while Laxman Regmi, Asmita Adhikari and Sachin Maharjan collected a point each with victories in the first round. Altogether 36 players --19 rated and 17 unrated-- are participating in the tournament organized by Himalayan Chess Club. Mohan Singh Pradhan, a chess enthusiast and son of the late Dhan Bahadur, has sponsored Rs 15,000 for the tournament.

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