Our squad to the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games bagged a pair of bronzes. Good for the team. It has managed not to return home empty-handed. The first card of substance was recorded in the 1986 Seoul Asian Games when a string of eight bronze medals put a grand end to the medal drought the country had suffered since the first Asian Games hosted by New Delhi in 1951. The jamboree assembling the cream of the Asian athletic landscape took place a fortnight after King Tribhuvan formally declared the dawn of democracy in Nepal.
The pair of bronze medals collected in karate and women’s kabaddi at the latest Asian Games underscores that the light at the end of the tunnel is far from extinguished. Things could have been worse considering that five of the 45 participating national teams returned home without any medal.
One read somewhere that “Nepal falls short of ambition”, which is an understatement, if one were to recall that barely a year ago, the National Sports Council had loudly declared that our athletes would fetch a bag of record ten medals, including a gold. Even then, I received the claim as overly ambitious. The serious doubt, unfortunately, proved right this month. There are other ways of taking the sports community of players and admirers into confidence instead of taking it along the garden path with false hopes.
Uncalled-for boasts made for effect do not boost any morale if not accompanied by sustained efforts for progress. Realistic targets and candid assessment made to the public, instead of elasticity in interpretations of performances, are the need of a realistic approach that does not mislead anyone. And what about the press coverage? Sports scribes hardly gave any hint of the national contingent’s prospects by way of curtain raisers.
Ministerial reassurance
Minister for Sports, Youth and Technology, who also looks after Education, Science and Technology, Sasmit Pokharel assured sports lovers and athletes the day Nagoya Asiad concluded that the National Games schedule “will not be postponed” this time. The repeatedly rescheduled contest is targeted for December 2 to 13 in Karnali Province. Having stayed back at home, reportedly to attend to other pressing issues at home, Minister Pokharel assured that things would not be the same henceforth.
A long delay in organising a competition can mean career-end to many athletes whose peak might decline during the draconian intermission of normal schedule and the ultimate date that ushers the contest in question. Effective leadership and efficient management are the key factors. Blaming lack of budget and inadequate exposure to athletes is a lame excuse. The logical challenge is one of making the most of the given situation. Sports officials and coaches too could be failing in their share of responsibilities. Spotting talents early on leads to better filtration and identification for participation in bigger competitions. This is what other countries do.
This scribe began his reporting career with sports, entertainment and education as his news beat in the early 1970s. It was a rare assignment at a time when reporters were generally not given any specific area but to cover any event or story the city editor (chief reporter) assigned on a day-to-day basis. That was because of an inadequate number of reporters to do news combing.
In 2025, Afghanistan’s cricketing team scored a sensational 21-run victory over Australia at the T20 World Cup Super-Eight contest. The elated Afghan captain Rashid Khan said: “It means a lot. Beating teams like Australia... it gives the people back home so much hope. Especially the young generation getting involved in cricket. Cricket is the only source of happiness back home. As a team, we can make them prouder and give them more happiness.”
The reaction might have been normal. But its intensity can be gauged from the conditions in that country. Afghanistan is a least developed landlocked South Asian country that has almost intermittently been embroiled in armed conflict for four and a half decades. The Soviets invaded the non-aligned neighbour in December 1979 and installed a government it found most suited to its interests.
A dozen Mujahedeen groups sprang up to exert pressure on the foreign forces to quit the land. Eleven years of fighting found the No. 2 superpower embarrassed without a breakthrough. At one time, one-third of the Afghan population turned refugees, mainly in neighbouring Iran and Pakistan. The proud and determined guerrilla groups refused to fall. In 1991, the last Soviet soldier left the Afghan soil.
Afghan story
Then in 2003, the US and its NATO allies invaded Afghanistan on the pretext of Al Qaeda’s Osama bin Laden supposedly hiding in that country. After fighting the Mujahedeen troops for 20 years, the US-led foreign troops finally called it quits and rushed out of the country in a humiliating hurry. Yet the Afghan cricket team has relatively better records.
Without the right officials and coaches in the right place, managing the sports sector faces added challenges. The selection process for athletes listed as possessing notable potential should be rigorous. Monitoring officials and holding them responsible for the quality of delivery should be an important aspect of managerial skill and dexterity. Is the selection process at fault? Are the officials always right, as referees are supposed to be in principle?
Don’t wait for some extra talent to emerge merely giving officials a fresh lease of life. What is expected of sports bodies is a direction toward our athletes’ consistency in performance—with or without medals. The overall standards should improve steadily on most, if not all, fronts.
Sports officials are there for proven records, not just the benefits and prestige that might accrue therefrom. First things first. All sports associations should promptly hold their organisational elections and national tournaments on time. Otherwise, they can indulge in the pipe dream of luck and chances.
(Professor Kharel specialises in political communication.)
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