Karnali workout, two points gold

The 14th central-level President Running Shield Games ended in the capital only on Thursday. A total of 686 athletes from the seven provinces who were selected from the local level and from the provincial level competed in 6 different sports (athletics, volleyball, kabaddi, karate, taekwondo and wushu).

Sudurpaschim Pradesh won the shield for the first time by winning 19 gold, 12 silver and 18 bronze medals. Wagmati Pradesh was second with 17 gold, 13 silver and 15 bronze, while Karnali was third with 10 gold, 5 silver and 16 bronze. Karnali won the 'two points' gold for the first time and is on the third place in the medal table. This is a happy message for the people of Karnali who have won 7 golds in athletics, 2 in karate and 1 in taekwondo.

Karnali province is on the brink of hosting the 10th national sports event. The competition is scheduled to be held in November this year. Because of that, the performance of Running Shield indicates that Karnali will show its strong presence in the national sports.

Compared to other states, Karnali does not have a dynamic structure of sports infrastructure. Surkhet, the main venue of the 10th National Games, has only a stadium and a covered hall. Other districts don't even have that. However, now Karnali province is preparing its team for the 10th National Games. Until the ninth edition, Karnali has not won gold in two points in the National Games. Karnali, who won 3 golds in the eighth and 2 golds in the ninth, has suffered many times without a medal. Therefore, the Karnali Pradesh Sports Council has started a campaign called 'Double Digit Gold'.

After winning 17 medals including 4 gold in the 13th President's Running Shield held last year, Karnali, which is in fifth place, has jumped to the gold medal this year. The main credit for this is continuous training. Karnali is training by hiring more coaches for athletics. Probably, Karnali is the first province to conduct training by contracting coaches other than the quota of Rakhep.

coach Vikramjung Thapa.

The state has signed former athletics head coach Vikramjung Thapa with an attractive salary. After retiring from the National Sports Council, Karnali, who was in his hometown Nepalganj, did not let his experience and contribution to athletics go to waste. He has been watching Karnali's athletics team for almost a year now.

As a result, Karnali has won 7 gold, 2 silver and 5 bronze medals in the Presidential Running Shield. He won 6 gold medals in inter-provincial sports. Coach Thapa says, 'I am trying to change the face of Karnali in the concept of bringing double digit gold in national sports. This success is just the beginning.'

Thapa told that his team is determined according to the guidance of National Sports Council Member Secretary Tanklal Ghising and Karnali Province Sports Council Member Secretary Bishwamitra Sanjyal. He said, "They want to see Karnali in the top position in sports. I have prepared and submitted a training program accordingly. I am also getting support.'

Coach Thapa is shocked to use his experience and ability on the field again. He said that senior coach Ram Bahadur Oli played a role in joining Karnali. "He identified my potential and connected me with Karnali, I am happy," said Thapa.

They and Hari Bahadur Rokay are watching Karnali's athletics team. 14 players are being trained in the camp. For that, the state government also gives a monthly allowance of Rs 5,000.

Athletes from Karnali have won gold in two events at the President's Running Shield. Sarita Khadka won two golds in the girls' 400m and 800m races. Ajay Vick won the gold for Karnali in the male 3000m race, Kalpana Budha in the female 15m race and Bal Kumar Nakal in the shot put. Another gold was won by the team of Sarita, Bhawana Farsal, Himali Shahi and Krishna Rana in the 4x400m relay race. The record was set in the relay and Sarita's 800m race.

Kalpana, a student who is training at high altitude, was expected to win gold in the 3,000 meters, but coach Hari Bahadur Rokay said that she had to miss out because of physical problems the night before the match. From Kalpana, the gold was won by Devaki Dhami from Far West. Kalpana came third. Otherwise, Karnali would have surpassed Sudur in athletics. However, both provinces won the same 7 gold.

Sanjyal, member secretary of Karnali, also shared his happiness through Facebook status. He has congratulated everyone by saying 'Karnali has entered the two-digit gold medal'.

Coach Thapa says that this success in the capital has filled the energy for the 10th National Games. They say, "We have managed to raise the head of the state." The state government has also said that the medal winners will be honored with cash. It will give us more energy. Coach Thapa believes that the Karnali state government's announcement to give 4 lakhs to gold winners, 3 lakhs to silver and 2 lakhs to bronze winners has boosted the morale of his players. He said that this will make players feel proud when they play for their province.

Karnali was given more gold by Nishan Pyakurel from Taekwondo and Laxman Kumar Shahi and Priyanka Shahi from Karate. Karnali made his identity felt at the Presidential Running Shield inauguration. The players marched in costumes made from allo produced in their own province. It was appreciated by many.

President Running Shield is a big competition in terms of participation and competition in every local level, district and province of the country up to the center. For this purpose, the government of Nepal allocates the budget in the red book. It is an official sports competition held at the government level. However, it could not be done in the regular calendar.

Karnali's coach Thapa suggests organizing it on time by making it a calendar. He said, "Players who participate in this are from many schools, not having a calendar will affect their studies. It has to come to the center through local, district, state. If it happens in the calendar, you can prepare in a planned manner. which can bring good results.

He gave the example of his own province. "We had completed the local and district competitions on time, so it has become easier now." National Sports Council member secretary Tanklal Ghising also says that since it is a big junior level sports competition, they are trying to make it comprehensive by adding other sports and going in a planned manner. He claims that more than 600,000 players will join it from the local level to the central level.