Dahal says fresh elections vague, risky idea

PAGE 12
www.thehimalayantimes.com
Sports
Nepal beat Malaysia, set rematch against UAE
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu, October 10
Skipper Paras Khadka continued
to shine with the bat as
Nepal entered second consecutive
ACC Trophy Elite final
with a 21-run victory over
Malaysia in Dubai today.
Paras struck 89 to help Nepal
made 241-9 in the semi-final
that was reduced to 45 overs
due to foggy condition. In reply,
Malaysia were restricted to
220-9 despite some valiant efforts
from their middle order.
Nepal will now take on the UAE
in the championship match after
the hosts stunned
Afghanistan by eight wickets in
the other semi-final. Nepal had
defeated UAE in their Group ‘B’
opener last week.
Nepal will be playing third final
of the ACC Trophy Elite.
They had entered their first final
in 2002 where they lost to
UAE by six wickets in Singapore.
In the 2010 edition, they
were beaten by Afghanistan.
Amrit Bhattarai gave Nepal
an early breakthrough dismissing
Anwar Arudin (eight) in the
third over but the seamer had
to leave the match in the seventh
due to chest pain — the
reason for which he was kept
out against Kuwait and Saudi
Arabi — after bowling just 3.3
overs. Faizal Hasan and Ahmed
Faiz then took full advantage of
his exit adding 60 runs for the
second wicket.
The Malaysians, however,
were dealt with double blow
when Hasan was bowled by
Bhuwan Karki and Shakti
Gauchan got rid off Faiz in a
space of eight runs. Hasan
made 33 and Faiz scored 29.
Though Khizar Hayat (23) and
Shiva Ram
opens with
two-over 74
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu, October 10
Nepal No 1 Shiva Ram Shrestha faltered
on the back nine to open the BILT Open
with two-over 74 at Delhi Golf Club today.
Shiva Ram took the turn at two-under
34 before suffering two double bogeys on
the back nine to settle for tied 46th after
the first day of the INR 10 million tournament
under the Professional Golf Tour of
India (PGTI). Another Nepali pro, Toran
Bikram Shahi shot three-over 75 to stay
further behind on joint 63rd position.
Shiva Ram, who teed off from the 10th,
made a dream start with a birdie on the
par-4 hole and added another on the 14th
after saving pars on three straight holes.
He dropped a shot on the 16th hole before
closing out his front nine with a
birdie on the par-5 18th hole.
After taking the turn at two-under 34,
he began the back nine cautiously and
saved pars on the first two holes. His first
of the two double bogeys came on the
par-4 third hole. He then saved pars on
the next two holes before facing another
double bogey on the par-3 seventh hole.
In between, Shiva Ram carded a birdie on
the sixth but went on to drop another
shot on the eighth hole to finish the back
nine on four-over 40.
Toran, who also started from the 10th
tee, suffered three bogeys on the 11th,
14th and 17th holes against a lone birdie
on the 17th hole to take the turn at twoover
38. Toran — who has been playing in
the PGTI for more than a decade — began
his back nine with a birdie on the par-
5 first hole but dropped shots on the third
and sixth holes before adding his third
birdie of the day on the par-3 seventh. He
finished the back nine at one-over 37.
The local dominance continued in the
PGTI with only two players from outside
India — Sri Lankan duo Mithun Perera
and Anura Rohana — finding their names
in top 20. They carded one-under 71 to
remain tied on 17th place along with
three other Indian pros. Former Surya
Nepal Masters champion Shamim Khan
carded eight-under 64 to take one-shot
lead over fellow Delhi golfer Rashid Khan.
Shamim carded seven birdies and an eagle
in his round that included a bogey.
Rashid had five birdies and an eagle.
Tournament favourite Jyoti Randhawa
was tied on sixth at three-under 69
along with Delhi’s Manav Jaini, Abhinav
Lohan of Faridabad, Kolkata pros Ranjit
Singh Rathore and Shankar Das, Chandigarh’s
Randhir Singh Ghotra and Rajesh
Kumar Rawat of Lucknow, who had an
ace on the 17th hole.
Nepali players celebrate after their victory over Malaysia in the semi-final of the ACC Trophy Elite in Dubai on Wedenesday.
Suhan Kumar added another
46 runs, Nepali bowlers kept it
tight making Malaysia hard to
get the required run rate.
Suhan and Shafiq Sharif
then added 45 runs for the fifth
wicket before Basant Regmi
dismissed the former reducing
Malaysia to 170-5 in 37.5 overs.
It soon became 171-6 when
Shakti trapped Aminuddin
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu, October 10
McDowell’s Ranipokhari
Corner Team (RCT) advanced
to the Ncell Cup final
with a convincing 2-0 victory
over newcomers Iceberg
Madhyapur Youth Association
(MYA)
here today.
First half
goals from
in-form
strikers
Amar Dangol
and Yugal
Kishor
Rai were
enough for
RCT, who
had not
even made
it to the last
four of any
knock out
tournament inside the valley
since winning the Birthday
Cup in 2000. RCT will
now take on the winners of
Thursday’s semi-final match
between Nepal Police Club
and Laxmi Hyundai Manang
Marshyangdi Club. The final
of the biggest knock out
tournament, in terms of
cash prize, is on Saturday.
“I have no words to express
this happiness,” said
RCT coach Madhu Karki,
Ramly leg before for 43 off 51.
Malaysia came close to required
run rate for the first
time in the match after Paras
was hit for 15 runs in the 40th
over that left Malaysia needing
49 runs from 30 balls. But the
Nepali skipper dismissed dangerous
Sharif to end Malaysian
hopes. Sharif hit 40 off 32 balls
with six boundaries.
who was the member of the
team that won the Birthday
Cup. “This is the outcome of
the hard work from my
boys,” said Madhu. “We do
not have any star player, but
all members in the team
have given 100 per cent,”
said the former skipper of
the club. “We would have
added some more goals but
the players took it lightly in
the second half,” said Karki.
Amar put RCT ahead in
the 19th minute slotting
home from inside the sixyard
box following a cross
from Oladipo Olawale Afeez.
The goal was the fourth for
the ANFA Academy product,
who has became the highest
scorer so far. MYA were
without their four first-
Prithu Baskota was the pick
of the Nepali bowlers with 3-
47, while Shakti claimed 2-30.
Earlier, Paras set Nepal on
course for a huge total with yet
another scintillating knock after
the early fall of openers Anil
Mandal (eight) and Subash
Khakurel (three). Paras, who
was aggressive in his 106
against Kuwait and 61 against
Udipt Singh Chhetry / THT
Tika Ram Shrestha of Sunsari takes an aim during the 10-metre Air Rifle finals
of the Nationwide Open Shooting Championships at the International Sports
Complex shooting range in Lalitpur on Wednesday.
choice players including
skipper Jeevan Sinkeman
and forward Bal Gopal
Sahukhala.
Veteran striker Nirajan
Rayamajhi squandered a
couple of scoring chances in
the first half for MYA. After
firing a 20-yard freekick
inches above
the bar in
the 26th
minute, Nirajanheaded
high from
inside the
box following
a Kishor
Duwal cross
in the first
half injury
time. Yugal,
who missed
from inside
the six-yard
in the 39th
minute, doubled RCT tally
utilising an Afeez cross one
minute before the interval.
MYA should have cut the
deficit in the 55th minute
but their reliable defender
Saroj Dahal missed a penalty.
The Bhaktapur-based ‘A’
division outfit was awarded
the spot kick after Niraj
Remi Magar handled the
ball inside the danger zone
in an attempt to clear Nirajan’s
attempt. MYA were un-
Hong Kong, took time today
making seven runs in the first
18 balls he faced.
But, once he hit Hayat for
two fours in the 14th over, runs
began to flow. Paras shared a
112-run partnership for the
third wicket with Gyanendra
Malla before the vice-captain
was run out. Gyanendra hit
two fours in his 60-ball 34.
Himalayan News Service
Lalitpur, October 10
Damodar Bhandari / THT
Olympians Tika Ram Shrestha
of Sunsari and Sneh Rajya Laxmi
Rana of Rupandehi claimed
the 10m Air Rifle gold medals
in the Nationwide Open Shooting
Championships here at the
International Sports Complex
shooting range today.
The 2004 Athens Olympics
participant Tika scored 657
points out of 700 to claim the
men’s section title ahead of Krishna
Ghorasaini (652) of Tribhuvan
Army Club (TAC) and
Hari Bahadur Thapa (644) of
Nepal Police Club (NPC).
Likewise, 2012 London
Games participant Sneh accumulated
480 points out of 500
to claim the women’s section
Afghans floored
KATHMANDU: Hosts UAE
produced the biggest upset
crushing defending
champions Afghanistan
by eight wickets in their
ACC Trophy Elite semi-final
match on Wednesday.
Fresh from competing in
the World Twenty20 in Sri
Lanka earlier this month,
the Afghans — who have
been enjoying ODI status
for the last three years —
were bundled out for 70 in
30.4 overs. UAE, in reply,
reached 71-2 in 23.4 overs
with Haroon Iftikhar making
unbeaten 34 runs. – HNS
After hitting 10 boundaries
and a six, Paras’ brilliant innings
came to an end while going
for a big shot against Anwar
Rahman in the 33rd over.
Nepal collected 65 runs in the
last 7.2 overs , thanks to Sharad
and Prithu, who smashed three
fours and two sixes to make 34
off just 21 balls. Sharad made
44-ball 37 with two boundaries.
Nazrul Rahman took four
wickets for Malaysia.
Nepal’s coach Pubudu Dassanayake
said losing Amrit
made the difference. “We lost
Amrit in the middle of the
game in a good batting track
and the Malaysians played our
spinners very well that made
us hard in picking up wickets,”
he said. Dassanayake also said
the decision on both the fast
bowlers, Amrit and Binod Das,
would be made after consulting
with doctors on Thursday.
Binod has not played a single
match due to a knee injury.
Olympians Tika, Sneh
claim 10m Air Rifle gold
title. She beat the 2008 Beijing
Olympian shooter Phul Maya
Kyapchhaki (476) and Durga
Sinjali — both from NPC.
Likewise, Armymen Kuber
KC (640) and Sudan Khadka
(639) won 10m Air Pistol gold
and silver medals respectively.
Bibek Raj Dhungel clinched
the bronze earning 624 points.
Also, Saraswoti Baniya (439) of
NPC, Shreya KC (438) of
Baglung and Sima Tuladhar
(433) of NPC secured top three
positions in the women’s 10m
Air Pistol category.
The top three shooters in all
the four categories received
Rs 10,000, Rs 7,000 and
Rs 5,000 respectively. National
Sports Council Member Secretary
Yubaraj Lama handed over
the prizes to the winners.
RCT end Madhyapur’s dream run, advance to final
Yugal Kishor Rai of RCT celebrates after scoring against
MYA during their Ncell Cup semi-final match at the
Dasharath Stadium in Kathmandu on Wednesday.
lucky when Raj Kumar Ghising’s
strike in an open net after
beating the advancing
RCT goalkeeper and skipper
Dilip Chhetry rebounded off
the post four minutes before
the whistle.
MYA coach Upendra Man
Singh was all praise of his
team. “We had already
achieved a lot by entering
the semi-finals in our second
appearance at this level,”
said the coach. He said
luck was not on their part
against RCT. “We missed a
couple of scoring chances
and luck did not favour us
today,” added Singh, who is
also the MYA president.
THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2012
THT
• TIME OUT
A Nepal Commerce Campus player
goes for a basket under pressure
from a Morgan opponent during
their Akhil Cup National Basketball
Tournament match on Wednesday.
TU, NCC in semis
KATHMANDU: Tribhuvan University
(TU), Nepal Commerce Campus
(NCC), Baneshwor Multiple Campus
and Public Youth College advanced to
the semi-finals of the Manmohan
Memorial Inter-college Akhil Cup National
Volleyball Tournament here on
Wednesday. TU thrashed Manmohan
Memorial Campus 25-19, 25-15,
while NCC saw off Saraswoti Campus
25-21, 25-19. Likewise, Baneshwor
beat Patan Multiple Campus 25-21,
29-27 and Public Youth overcame Siddharth
Nath Campus of Kanchanpur
25-18, 25-11. TU will take on Baneshwor,
while NCC are up against Public
Youth in semi-finals. — HNS
Nepal beat Pakistan
KATHMANDU: Nepal cruised past
Pakistan 4-0 in their third match of
the Kizuna Project Japan SAARC U-14
Football Exchange Programme in
Shizuka on Wednesday. Lalit Thapa
gave the Nepali U-14 team an early
ninth minute lead and Rabi Bhandari
made it 2-0 just a minute later. Bimal
Gharti Magar struck in the 16th
minute, while Shiva Subedi completed
the rout in the 19th, informed the
ANFA. Nepal won both their matches
on Tuesday, crushing Maldives 4-0
and Japan ‘B’ 3-1. — HNS
Thapa enters final
KATHMANDU: Nepal’s Kamal Thapa
set a final rematch with S Settu of India
in the All India Senior Tennis Association
(AISTA) Tournament on
Wednesday. In the above-55yrs category
semi-final held at the Vasant Vihar
Club Tennis courts, Thapa overcame
India’s BS Tulasiram 6-3, 6-7, 6-
1 to make into his third consecutive
final. The 2010 winner Thapa had defeated
Yogesh Shah of Guajarat in the
quarter-finals on Tuesday.Thapa also
entered the final in the doubles after
he teamed up with Yogesh to beat K
Vijay and S Sudhakaran of Tamil
Nadu 6-1, 6-2. — HNS
Prime advance
KATHMANDU: Prime and Himalayan
White House entered the
Akhil Cup National Basketball Tournament
semi-finals here on Wednesday.
Prime thumped KIST 48-18 riding
on Ayush Singh’s 12 points, while
Rishi Robertson netted 23 points as
White House defeated Golden Gate
International 59-44. Joining them in
the last four were Morgan and Ace Institute
of Management. Morgan dispatched
Nepal Commerce Campus
37-23 with Nischal Shrestha contributing
13 points and Ace saw off
Kathford 31-19. Prime will play
against Morgan and Whitehouse face
Ace in the semi-finals. — HNS
Futuro-III begins
KATHMANDU: FIFA Futuro-III Administration
and Management
Course, under the programme of
football’s world governing body, began
here on Wednesday. FIFA Assistant
Development Officer Sreesanth
Parera and AFC representative Yogesh
Deshai will conduct the course. Instructors
and coaches from Yemen,
Sri Lanka, Iran, Maldives, Sri Lanka,
Bangladesh, Bhutan and India apart
from representatives of ‘A’ Division
clubs, officials of ANFA and Women
Football Commission are participating
in the five-day course. — HNS