So far, taekwondo is the only game that has made to the final round of the Olympics through qualifiers and Nepali players Ayasha Shakya, Manita Shahi, Ashish Maharjan and Rohit Tamang will test their mettle on November 26 and 27. [break]
Sangina Baidhya and Deepak Bista are the only Nepali players to have succeeded in making it to the final stage of Olympics.
Sangina Baidhya qualified for 2004 Athens Olympics and Deepak Bista for 2008 Beijing Olympics. With the retirement of Baidhya, and Bista not actively involved in competitive matches due to injury, these four players are the only hopes of Nepali taekwondo.
Nepal´s Korean coach Kwan Young Dal is optimistic about the success of Shakya who is competing in women´s U-57 kg and Shahi who is competing in U-67 kg. Maharjan is competing in men´s U-68 kg and Tamang in U-58 kg.
"I am expecting more from Shakya and Shahi as they have gained more international experience and exposure. Maharjan and Tamang are also equally competent," Dal said.
Shakya was the gold medalist of 11th South Asian Games (SAG) and the winner of First Mount Everest International Taekwondo Championship held a couple of months earlier in Kathmandu. Shahi was the silver medalist of SAG and the gold medalist of the Mount Everest Taekwondo.
"The qualification of players depends very much upon the match condition and concentration," Dal said adding, "One cannot win the match just by beating opponent. Match condition and practice of mind and tactics are equally important."
"If the players play as per my instructions during the match we will have more chances of gaining spot for Olympics," Dal said who also lamented on the lack of abroad training.
Nepali team had undergone training targeting for the qualifiers since last two months by coaches Dal, Sangina Baidhya and Min Thapa. However, the team was under continuous training from the last five months.
Among the four players, Shakya and Shahi had also competed during the Asian Qualifying round for 2008 Beijing Olympics in Vietnam. Shakya was defeated in the first round by a Malayasian, who made it to the final stage. Similarly, Shahi was defeated by a Pilipino player 6-4 in the first round.
Meanwhile, National Sports Council (NSC) Member Secretary Yubaraj Lama bade farewell to the seven member team heading for the qualifiers.
Other than the players, the eight member team consists of coach Dal, Parilal Malla as team manager and Nepal Taekwondo officials Deepraj Gurung and Hemanta Dangi as the officials.
Manita Shahi, 27
The qualification depends on tie-sheet draw also. But this time I am more confident than the previous occasion as we had a long training. The opportunity for Olympic does not come often and like every other players my dream is also to qualify for the final stage. I will try to give my cent percent.
Ayasha Shakya, 24
I hope to qualify because we have undergone sufficient training. However, the qualification depends very much on tie sheet draw also. Lets hope we are lucky. Every player dreams of playing in Olympics once in their lifetime and it is of great importance to me.
Ashish Maharjan, 23
This is the first time I am competing in this event. Our seniors like Deepak Bista and Sangina Baidhya have made it to the final round and we will try to follow their footsteps.
Rohit Tamang, 20
I hope to qualify for the final stage of Olympics and make all Nepalis feel proud. We have undergone ample training. This tournament will also be very much helpful for other international tournament as well.
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