10th National Games from Mangsir 8; closed training begins in provinces

Competitions for the 10th National Games, to be held in Karnali Province, will begin on Mangsir 8.

According to the schedule approved by the technical committee, six events will be held on the first day: men's and women's cricket, men's football, men's and women's handball, women's basketball, tennis and swimming.

The competition is set to run from Mangsir 16 to 27. Of the total 32 sports, 23 will be held in Surkhet. Tennis and kho-kho will be held in Bardiya, judo and wrestling in Salyan, and physical fitness (bodybuilding) in western Rukum. ITF taekwondo is set for Dailekh, chess for Kalikot, and swimming and shooting for Nepalgunj.

Meanwhile, closed training for athletes from host province Karnali began on Sunday. Inaugurating the training, Minister for Social Development Jitbahadur Malla said Karnali must work hard to win more medals. The training, which was supposed to start right after Dashain, has begun somewhat late. In the first phase, handball and badminton players are undergoing training.

Lokbahadur Khadka, member-secretary of the Province Sports Council, said 744 athletes from Sudurpashchim Province will take part in 30 events. The province's selection trials will be held in Kanchanpur and Kailali from Kartik 28 to Mangsir 1. Players in cycling, tennis, swimming, sepak takraw and hockey will take part without trials.