APF dominate tennis; NRNA open accounts

Amrit Thapa Magar (left) and Krishna Thapa (right) pose with their father, 17-time national champion Hira Bahadur Thapa, after the 11th National Squash Tournament in Lalitpur on Monday. Photo: Udipt Singh Chhetry / THT

Kathmandu, April 15

Samrakshyak Bhushan Bajracharya and Prerana Koirala won the singles titles of the 15th National Lawn Tennis Championship under the eight National Games in Rupandehi today.

Nepal APF Club dominated the championship winning five out of seven gold medals, while Tribhuvan Army Club and Non-Resident Nepali Association bagged one each. A total of 43 players — 28 men and 15 women — from six teams took part in the championship.

In the men’s singles final, Bajracharya defeated TAC’s Pranav Khanal 6-1, 6-2, while Pradeep Khadka of Province-4 and Santosh Khatri of APF finished joint third. In women’s section, APF player Koirala beat TAC’s Abhilasha Bista 6-0, 6-2 to win her first national championship title. Ira Rawat of TAC and Rena Shah of Province-3 bagged bronze medals.

Judo

Nepal Police Club continued their dominance in the 16th National Judo Championship in Nepalgunj. NPC, who had won five gold medals on first day, added two more on the second day. Out of the 14 individual section gold medals, NPC claimed seven, while Tribhuvan Army Cub won five.

Nepal APF Club and Province-5 got one each.

On Monday, TAC claimed four gold medals. Nirmala Gharti Magar defeated NPC judoka Renuka Thapa in the below-63kg weight category.

Olympian and 12th South Asian Games gold medal winner Phupu Lhamu Khatri could not take part in the weight category as she is serving one-year ban for quitting the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games training under the NOC Scholarship.

In below-78kg section final, Punam Shrestha beat Samjhana Chaudhary of Province-5, while Aakriti Giri outplayed Deepa Gurung of Province-5 in above-78kg final.

Likewise, Surya Man Lama won below-90kg section gold beating Shree Ram Makaju of NPC in the final. Two NPC judokas, Sanjit Dangol and Ravin Shrestha bagged gold medals. Dangol defeated Jang Bahadur Saru in below-73kg final, while Shrestha outplayed TAC’s Ramesh Bahadur Chand in the below-100kg final. Likewise, Devika Khadka of APF earned below-52kg gold beating NPC judoka Dil Kumari Chhantyal.

Squash

Krishna Thapa of Gandaki Province won the women’s singles gold medal of 11th National Squash Tournament in Lalitpur. Thapa came from a set down to beat defending champion Bhawana Sunuwar (Provine-3) 7-11, 11-5, 13-11, 7-11, 11-7 in the fifth and final match of the round robin league. Both the players had won four matches going into the final round. Amrit Thapa Magar, brother of Krishna, had already won the men’s singles title as Gandaki finished with two gold medals. Their father, Hira Bahadur Thapa is the 17- time national champion. Provine-3 bagged men’s team event gold medal with a 2-1 victory over Gandaki. A total of 30 players, including six in women’s section, took part in the tournament.

Cycling

Okesh Raj Bajracharya of TAC and Laxmi Magar of Province-3 won gold medals in Cross Country MTB Race in Nepalgunj. Bajracharya completed the distance (five laps of 4.6km) in one hour, 25 minutes and 09 seconds to finish first in men’s section, ahead of fellow TAC rider Himal Tamatta (1:26:06). Hikmat BK of Gandaki Province finished third in 1:26:44.

In women’s section, Magar completed the race (four laps of 4.6km) in one hour, 20 minutes and 52 seconds to win the gold medal. Usha Khanal of Gandaki was a distant second in 1:33:38, while Nirjala Tamrakar of Provine-3 came third in 1:35:56. A total of 42 riders — 30 men and 12 women — from eight teams participated in the tournament.

Hockey

Nepal Police Club recorded a 6-0 victory over Province-2 in the National Hockey Tournament in Nepalgunj.

Raman Rana scored four goals alone for the NPC, who had already made it to the semi-finals as Group A winners.

Yogesh Kumar Baljhare and Keshav Raj Joshi netted one goal each for the departmental side. The day’s result meant defending champions Tribhuvan Army Club advanced to the last four as Group A runners-up.

NPC will face Farwest, while TAC take on Province-5 in the semi-final matches on Tuesday.

Basketball

Tribhuvan Army Club, Farwest Province, Nepal Police Club and Province-3 advanced to the 15th National Women’s Basketball Tournament in Ghorahi, Dang. In the league round matches, Province-3 registered a 47-12 victory over Province-5 riding on Sadina Shrestha’s 13 points, while Sumanta Khadka netted 15 points as TAC recorded a 59-31 win against Province-4. Also, Farwest eked out a 33-29 win over Province-1 in which Anita Bhandari top scored for the winning side with 17 points, whereas Alisha Malla netted 15 points as NPC beat APF 57-35. TAC will face Province-3, whereas Farwest will take on NPC in the semi-final matches.

In men’s section, Province-3, TAC, NPC and Gandaki Province entered the last four. Province-3 defeated APF 60-51, while TAC registered a 76-55 victory over Province-1. Likewise, NPC recorded a 68-42 win against Province-5, whereas Gandaki hammered Farwest 68-42.

Golf

Tanka Bahadur Karki took three-stroke lead over Sukra Bahadur Rai on the opening day of the National Golf Tournament at the Gokarna Golf Club in Kathmandu. In individual section, Karki carded seven birdies on his way to five-under 67, while Rai played a round of two-under 70. Subash Tamang and Ajit BK are third at one-over 73. In women’s category, Prativa Rai shot 16-over 88 and was still five-strokes ahead of Kashmira Shah. Rabina Shrestha and Tara Karki played 98 each, while Juny Gurung (100) and Sushma Koirala (104) were out of the first round for reaching the three-figure limit. In team event, Province-1 opened the campaign with even-par 144 to stay at the top, while Tribhuvan Army Club are five strokes behind at 150. Gandaki Province are third at 154.

Badminton

TAC and Nepal APF Club claimed team event gold medals of the 40th National Badminton tournament in Dang. TAC defeated APF 3-2 in the men’s section final, while Nepal Police Club and Farwest finished joint third. In women’s section, APF defeated TAC 2-1 in final, whereas Farwest and Province-1 won bronze medals. In men’s singles, Purna Bahadur Bohara and Jeevan Acharya of NPC advanced to the second round along with Bishwo Nepal of Province-5.