Nepali team sent off for 5th Asian Para Games in Japan

The Nepali team heading to the 5th Asian Para Games in Japan was sent off in Kathmandu on Friday.

National Sports Council member-secretary Ramcharitra Mehta and member Monalisa Khambu bid farewell to the athletes with best wishes at the council building in Tripureshwor. Nineteen Nepali athletes across 8 sports will compete at the Games in Aichi-Nagoya from October 18 to 24.

In taekwondo, Palesha Goverdhan and Renu Tamang will take part. The athletics squad includes Prabha Angdembe, Shrishti Dhewaju, Mohan Roka, Himal Aryal and Raju Gurung. Table tennis has five athletes, including Keshav Thapa and Nirmala Bhandari. Powerlifting entries include Rajani Rai and Pawan Gharti Magar, while Jenisha Kadayat and Harkaman Gharti will compete in swimming. Prakash Adhikari will play badminton, Sankalpa Acharya will compete in judo, and Ram Bahadur Tamang in wheelchair tennis.

The team also includes 8 coaches, one for each sport, and a doctor. Olympian Bimala Rana Magar is the athletics coach. Chief of mission Kedarbabu Sivakoti is leading the delegation.

According to Sivakoti, the taekwondo and judo teams will depart for Japan on Saturday, with the rest of the team to follow in stages.

Nepal has taken part since the first edition of the Games but has won only 1 medal across four editions. At the fourth edition in Hangzhou, China, Palesha Goverdhan won bronze in taekwondo. She also won bronze at the Paris Paralympics.