The top-class players of Nepal will be joined by Kumar Maharjan and Rohit Tamang of the men´s section for the qualifiers to be held in Bangkok, Thailand from November 4-6.[break]
Shahi, who won gold in the Sixth International Korea Open Taekwondo Championship last year, proved her mettle as she ousted Sangita Basyal of Armed Police Force (APF) Club 25-2 in the first round of women´s U-67 kg bout during the selection at Nepal Police Academy, Maharajgunj.
The Nepal Police Club (NPC) player, having advantage of her height, wasted no time in kicking the opponent´s head to grab three points as soon as the game began. She took a 8-1 lead in the first set and made the score 19-2 by the end of the second set. Shahi, a gold medalist of the 10th South Asian Games (SAG), Colombo in 2006, scored six more points in the third set to seal the match 25-2.
Shahi continued her good form in the final match as well defeating Pratigya Bhandari, who had got a straight entry into the final after receiving a bye in the first round. Shahi took a 11-1 lead in the first set. Bhandari from Bijeshwori tried to fight back in the second set, scoring the first point but the final score at the end of the set was 12-2. Shahi slowed her pace in the third set but still won the game 13-2.
Despite her outstanding performance, Shahi said that she still needs to put in more efforts for her next challenge.
“I still need to work hard because the Asian Qualifying Tournament is going to be quite tough,” she said.
Another SAG gold medalist Shakya lived up to the expectation as she outplayed Gyani Chunara 17-3 in the first round of the women´s U-57 kg bout. She too scored three points, aiming straight at her opponent´s head, within seconds of the start of the game.
She won the first set 12-2. National player Shakya, who won gold in the recent 11th edition of the SAG held in Bangladesh last year, continued her dominance but the score at the end of the second set was 15-3. She also won third set with a final score of 17-3.
In the final round, Shakya denied Eight SAG gold medalist Renuka Magar of a comeback win. Magar, who went to the United States after winning gold in the regional sports extravaganza in home ground about 12 years ago, gave a tough challenge to Shakya but she couldn´t score any point. Shakya ultimately emerged victorious with a score of 5-0.
In the men´s section, Aashish Maharjan of APF had a hard fought win over this club-mate Bharat Bohara in the first round of men´s U-68 kg bout. Maharjan apparently got injured in the first set, which ended 4-4, but he still fought his way back to victory with a final score of 8-6.
In the final round, Maharjan defeated Anoj Pujari of NPC 8-4 to book a ticket for Thailand.
Meanwhile, Rohit Tamang from Bhaktapur had a hard fought 3-2 win over Ranjan Shrestha from Koteshwar in the final of the men´s U-58 kg bout.
All of the four selected players will leave for a special training in South Korea after the completion of the First Mount Everest International Taekwondo Championship to be held in Kathmandu from September 22-24.
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