यस्तो छ- बेजिङ ओलम्पिकमा भिड्‍ने ८ नेपाली खेलाडीहरुको जिबन कहानी
Profiles of 8 Nepalese Athletes Competing in Beijing Olympics

Chandrakala Thapa
Athlete

Athlete Chandrakala Thapa was born in 2040 Magh 16 B.S. in Urlabari, Morang. Her family does substantial farming. She is the youngest child in the family of 1 son and 2 daughters. “As I was the youngest my parents never prevented me from playing any games that I liked. Actually, they have been encouraging me to do something different all the time,” said Thapa.

She joined Nepal Police in 2056 B.S and there she joined Mahendra Police Club, as she was always interested in and good at sports from childhood. By now she has participated in dozens of National games and has won more than a dozen Gold medals. She holds the National Record in 400m Individual.

With the height of 5 feet 4 inches and 57 weights Thapa will run along side the other Olympians under ‘Athletics 100 m Heat’ event in upcoming Beijing Olympics. Her schedule of the game is given below:

Day 9	Sunday (August 17, 2008)
	Session AT06	Start: 19:00	End: 23:27	National Stadium
	19:00-19:35	Women's 100m Hurdles Round 1
	19:45-20:01	Women's 100m Semifinals
	22:30-22:40	Women's 100m Final
	23:20-23:27	Women's 100m Medal Ceremony

Some of the national and international games in which she participated are:
1. Investment Bank National Game in 2062 B.S: 5 Gold Medals
2. 9th South Asian Games in 2004: Participant
3. 10th SAAF Game (Colombo 2006): Participant
4. 9th World Championship in France (2003): Participant
5. 17th Asian Championship, Jordan 2007: Participant
6. SAAF Senior Championship in Cohn, India: Participant

“With two months of training it will be difficult for us to bring any medal in this Olympics. But I am targeting to break the National Record,” said Chandrakala Thapa with a promise to give her best in the Olympics.

Debu Thapa
Judo

If Debu Thapa (Maharjan) could be described in one word it would be ‘tough’ woman. Born in 2030 in Jumla, Karnali zone of Far Western Region, she was the only daughter of a financially high class family. “My family cherished me so they did not stop me from doing what I wanted,” says Thapa.

She was very active teenager. She played every game held in the region and won prizes which were usually ‘plates’ at that time. Because of this she joined the Nepal Police when she was just 14 years of age. From there she became the judo player in then Mahendra Police Club and was soon declared National Player when she started winning every competition she participated in the national tournaments starting from 1996 AD.

She came to prominence after she fought her first international game and won a Gold medal. It was in 1997 South Asian Championship (Bangladesh) where she learned she was three months pregnant and still played signing a paper and convincing judges and her coach that if anything happens she will take sole responsibility. So, she is known as one tough woman. In this Olympic Games, she is targeting to break the national record.

“I know I will win four fights easily if I get a chance to fight with Asia’s players,” she declared. Confident and tough, Thapa will be at her best in the games, said her coach Birendra Ranjitkar.

National Games
Year	Game	Weight	Position	Place/Country
2007	9th National Judo Championship	63	First	Jhapa
2005	8th National Judo Championship	63	First	Kathmandu
2005	All Nepal Open Judo Championship	Open	First	Kathmandu
2005	All Nepal Open Judo Championship	56	First	Kathmandu
2004	Kathmandu Open Judo Championship	Open	First	Kathmandu
2004	All Nepal Open Judo Championship	57	First	Kathmandu
2003	All Nepal Open Judo Championship	57	Best Player	Kathmandu
2003	All Nepal Open Judo Championship	Open	First	Kathmandu
1996	7th National Judo Championship	55	First	Lalitpur
International Games
Year	Game	Weight	Position	Place/Country
2007	Asian Judo Championship	63	Participate	Kuwait
2006	15th Asian Games	63	Participate	Doha
2006	10th South Asian Games	63	Second	Colombo
2006	Hong Kong International Judo Tournament	63	Participate	Hong Kong
2006	4th India Cup International Judo Championship	63	Third	India
2005	South Asian Judo Championship	57	Second	Indore, India
2004	Rajiv Gandhi International Judo Championship	57	Participant	Lucknow, India
1999	AARC Judo Championship	57	Second	Lucknow, India
1997	Independence Day International Judo Championship’97	52	Third	Bangladesh
1997	South Asian Championship	50	First	Bangladesh
1996	Invitation Open Judo Tournament	50	First	Kathmandu

Special Achievement in Judo:

1.     Kodokan 3^rd Dan, 2007

2.     Kodokan 2^nd Dan, 2004

3.     Black Belt = 1^st Dan, 1999

4.     Mahendra Police Club, Player

5.     Participate in Judo Technical Seminar 2004, organized by NJA

6.     Referee in 1^st MMAC Junior Judo/Kendo Championship 2005

7. Participate in JUA education and Coaching Seminar 2007

Debu Thapa’s Judo game schedule is as follows:

Day 4	Tuesday ( August 12, 2008)
	Session JU07	Start: 12:00	End: 16:30	Beijing Science and Technology University Gymnasium
	12:00-16:30	Women's -63kg Preliminaries/Repechages
	Session JU08	Start: 18:00	End: 19:30	Beijing Science and Technology University Gymnasium
	18:00-19:30	Women's-63kg Final of Repechage A
	18:00-19:30	Women's-63kg Final of Repechage B
	18:00-19:30	Women's -63kg Final of Table A
	18:00-19:30	Women's -63kg Final of Table B
	18:00-19:30	Women's -63kg Bronze Medal Contest A
	18:00-19:30	Women's -63kg Bronze Medal Contest B
	18:00-19:30	Women's -63kg Gold Medal Contest
	18:00-19:30	Women's -63kg Medal Ceremony

These programs are said to be broadcast LIVE only from Chinese International Television such as CCTV 9 and so on.

Deepak Bista
Tae-kwon-do

With his record of holding three gold Medals in South Asian Games, everyone is looking closely at Deepak Bista for his performance in the upcoming Beijing Olympic 2008. He is the only qualified player for the Olympics from Nepal.

Born in 1976 A.D in Kanchanpur district, Bista was famous as the best player in volley ball during his school days. But his interest in it slowly faded away as he was more interested in tae-kwon-do. He needed money to join the game but as he did not have enough money, Bista stole Rs.300 from his uncle Damber Bista's Gyan Niketan School and was admitted at Dhangadi Dojang. This is the way his career in Tae-Kwon-Do started.

Now he is a national player of Nepal. But to be the top player he did not have flower strewn roads. Like most of other Nepali players, he had to struggle with money problems and walk alone as his family did not support his interest in competitions. They did not like him becoming a player who had no secure future in a country like Nepal. But with his strong willpower and dreams to be someone, he fought against every obstacle and rose as the victor.


Excited about the Beijing Olympics, Bista said competing in the Olympics was his dream after he joined Tae-kwon-do. “It was my dream to play in Olympics and I am very happy about it. But I will be happier if the dream to win a medal and bring it home comes true as well,” he said.

He has already been to more than 10 countries, namely India, Pakistan, France, Italy, Croatia, Slovenia, Hong Kong, Thailand, Philippines, Singapore, Bahrain, South Korea,USA. Sri Lanka, Qatar, and China for international games and has come home with medals.

He is taking his studies at the same time. Right now he is doing his Masters in Sociology from Tri-Chandra College, Kathmandu. “Study is a must for everyone,” added Bista.

Some of his national and international games and awards are given below:

National Games (TKD)

SN.	Games	Place	Year	Received Award
1	First Mayor National Open Tae-kwon-do Championship	Butwal	2001	Gold
2	4th National Games	Nepalgunj	1999	Gold
3	5th National Tae-kwon-do Championship	Ilam	1997	Gold
4	Saroj Memorial National Open Tae-kwon-do Championship	Butwal	1996	Gold
5	His Majesty King Golden Jubilee National Tae-kwon-do Championship	Kathmandu	1996	Gold
6	4th National Tae-kwon-do Championship	Hetunda	1996	Gold

International Games (TKD)

SN.	Games	Place	Year	Received Award
1	Asian Regional Qualification TKD championship for 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.	Vietnam	2007	Bronze                (Qualified)
2	1'st world TKD Expo championship	South Korea	2007	Silver
3	3'rd Korean open TKD championship	South Korea	2007	Bronze
4	18'th World TKD Championship	China	2007	Participate
5	Chuncheon open Int'l TKD championship	South Korea	2007	Participate
6	10'th SAG (South Asian Games)	Sri Lanka	2006	Gold
7	15th Asian Games	Qatar	2006	Bronze
8	17'th Asian Tae-kwon-do Championship	Thailand	2006	Quarter Finalist
9	Players Cup Tae-kwon-do Championship	USA	2005	Gold
10	Governor Cup Tae-kwon-do Championships – 2004	USA	2005	Gold
11	9th SAG (South Asian Games)	Pakistan	2004	Gold
12	Asian Regional Olympic Qualification for Greece 2004	Thailand	2004	Quarter Finalist
13	World Olympic Qualification for Greece 2004	France	2004	Participant
14	14th Asian Games	South Korea	2002	Bronze
15	7th World university Tae-kwon-do Championship	USA	2002	Quarter Finalist
16	14th Asian Tae-kwon-do Championship	Hong Kong	2000	Participant
17	Asian Regional Olympic qualification for Sydney 2000	Philippines	1999	Third Place
18	World Olympic Qualification for Sydney 2000	Croatia	1999	Participant
19	8th SAG(South Asian Games)	Kathmandu	1999	Gold
20	13th Asian Games	Thailand	1998	Quarter Finalist
21	13th World Tae-Kwon-do Championship	Hong Kong	1997	Participant
22	2nd Koshi International (SAG   Level)	Ithari	1996	Gold
23	2nd Seti International  (SAG     Level)	Dhangadi	1996	Gold

His Working Experiences are given below:

1. Participated as a Tae-kwon-do Coach in 1"st National Gantantrik Sports Festival - 2007 in Nepal.
2. Worked as a captain of national Tae-Kwon-Do team since 2002 to till date.
3. Participated as a Tae-kwon-do Coach in 3rd Koshi International Invitation Tae-kwon-do Championship 2005 in Nepal.
4. Participated as a Tae-kwon-do coach in 3rd Ambassador Cup National Championship 2005 in Nepal.
5. Participated as a Tae-kwon-do coach in 31st US National Tae-kwon-do Championship – 2005 in Oregon, USA.
6. Tae-kwon-do Coach and Discipline In-Charge, Himalayan White House Int'l College, from 2005 Jan to till now.
7. Living stone Higher Secondary School, from 2001 to 2005.
8. Tae-kwon-do coach, Little Angel's Higher Secondary School from 1999 to 2003.

He has Received Special Training from:

1. 7 months Special Training In South Korea – 2007
2. 45 Days Special Training With National Team of USA in Peak Performance Training Center, FL - 2006
3. Three Months Special Training in Tae-kwon-do World Gym in USA - 2005
4. One Month Special Training in South Korea - 2005
5. Five days 11th Foreign Tae-kwon-do Instructor Training Course, Kukkiwon, South Korea - 2005.
6. One Month Training from South Korea - 2004
7. One Month Training from South Korea - 2002
8. One Month Training from Thailand - 2001
9. One Month Training from South Korea - 1999
10. One Month Training from South Korea - 1998

Apart from lots of appreciation awards from different organizations some of the important Awards Received by Bista are:

• SAMSUNG Blue Passion Award - 2007 in Asian Olympic Qualifying Game.
• Martyrs Dasarath Chand Memorial Trust Award - 2007
• NNIPA player of the year Award - 2006
• NSJF LG player of the year Award - 2006
• Yogendra Smiriti Braery Award - 2006
•  Deuda Award from Western Region, Nepal - 2006
• Ambassador For Peace award -2005
• 3rd Supradipta Birendra Prajatantra Bhaskar from His Majesty The King Gyanendra-2005.
•  Deuda Award Western Region , Nepal - 2004.
• Best Player Award of the Year 2003 from his Royal Highness Crown Prince Paras-2004.
•  3rd Subikhayat Trishathi Patta from his Majesty the King Gyanendra-2003.
•  “3rd Suprabal Gorkha Dakshin Bahu” from Late his Majesty The King Birendra-2000.
• Best Player Award of the Year 1999 in Far Western Region-2000.
• Best Player Award on 4th National Games. 1999

Looking at his trainings and awards won in different national and international tournaments Nepalese are praying for their first Olympic medal from Bista for the country.

Game schedule for the Tae-kwon-do game of Deepak Bista is given below:

Day 14	Friday (22 August, 2008)
	Session TK05	Start: 09:00	End: 12:56	Beijing Science and Technology University Gymnasium
	11:00-12:56	Men's Under 80kg Preliminaries
	Session TK06	Start: 15:00	End: 21:04	Beijing Science and Technology University Gymnasium
	16:00-16:56	Men's Under 80kg Quarterfinals
	17:30-17:56	Men's Under 80kg Semifinals
	18:30-18:56	Men's Under 80kg Repechage
	19:30-19:41	Men's Under 80kg Bronze Medal Contest
	19:45-19:56	Men's Under 80kg Bronze Medal Contest
	20:15-20:26	Men's Under 80kg Gold Medal Contest
	20:56-21:04	Men's Under 80kg Medal Ceremony

Kamal Bahadur Adhikari
Weightlifting

Kamal Bahadur Adhikari’s health is not in perfect shape but he is determined to give his best in upcoming Beijing Olympic. “As I got my wild card entry just a few weeks back I didn’t get to train enough for Olympics. However, I have to break the national record even though with my back injuries and insufficient training I am at a disadvantage,” Adhikari said.

Born in 2034 B.S in a middle class farming family of Geetanagar of Chitwan, Adhikari says when he was a child his favorite game was football, but his friends would not let him play as he was stronger than they. His seniors used to let him play sometimes but only sometimes. He joined the Nepal Army in 2054 B.S. and was admitted to Tribhuwan Army Club in 2056 B.S. where he was in athletics (pole-vault) and swimming.

During those days, he says, he didn’t know anything about weightlifting. “I used to watch our senior training from a window and used to wonder if it was a form of sport,” he said. As his seniors noticed he was comparatively strong, they sent him to weightlifting saying “go into the gym to make your body look good”.

Adhikari, who started his weightlifting training by thinking of going there “to make his body look good” is now a National Record holder in 2 categories (69 and 77 kg.) Apart from this he has won many national and international awards. Some of his participated games are given below:

Year	Games	Weight	Position
2008	Asian Weight Lifting Championship (Japan)	69 kg	Participant
2006	10th SAAF Games (Colombo, Sri Lanka)	69 kg	First
2006	15th Asian Games (Doha)	69 kg	11th position
2006	Bhaktapur Sports Tournament	69 kg	First
2005	Open Man Weight Lifting Championship	77 kg	First
2005	Open Weight Lifting Championship	69 kg	First
2005	17th Man National Weight Lifting Championship (Best Player)	69 kg	First
2004	……Asian Games	69 kg	Participant
2003	16th Man Weight Lifting Championship (Best Player)	69 kg	First
2003	14th Constitution Day Open Weight Lifting Championship	62 kg	First
2003	57th Birthday Cup	62 kg	First
2002	32nd Birthday Cup	69 kg	First
2002	National Open Man Weight Lifting Championship	62 kg	Second
2002	Open Valley Championship	62 kg	Second
	Other National Trophy = 21 (Pcs.)

These are Kamal Bahadur Adhikari’s schedule of his game in Beijing Olympics:

Day 4	Tuesday (August 12, 2008)
	Session WL08	Start: 10:00	End: 14:00	Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics Gymnasium
	10:00-12:00	Men's 69kg - Group B
	Session WL10	Start: 19:00	End: 21:00	Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics Gymnasium
	19:00-20:40	Men's 69kg - Group A
	20:50-21:00	Men's 69kg Medal Ceremony

Karishma Karki
Swimmer

At the age of 17, Karishma Karki is the youngest Nepali participant at the Beijing Olympics. The young, beautiful, and focused swimmer says she is hoping to break the national record in this Olympics. “We have had good training in Bangalore, India from our coaches Ongdel Lama (Nepali) and Pradeep Kumar (Indian), so we are confident that we will be able to break our national records, at least,” said Karishma.

Born in the capital city Kathmandu she says she started swimming when she was only 10 years old. She says she started swimming because she was interested in it. More to the point is that her father, Ishwor Karki, is also a swimmer and is her personal coach, so it was a plus point for her. In these 7 years of swimming she has won many medals at national levels and holds the National Record in two categories: 400m – 5.40 sec and 800m – 11.46 sec. Some of her received awards are as follows:

National Level Games:
1. 14th National Games : Bronze and Silver medals in different categories
2. 13th National Games: 8 Gold medals
3. 4th Pramod Memorial Swimming Cup: 2 Gold medals.
4. Galaxi Cup: Gold Medal

International Level Games:

1. 9th SAAF Games (Pakistan): Participant
2. Asian Talent Identification Game (Bangkok): Participant (First Indoor Game)
3. 10th SAAF Games (Sri-Lanka): Participant (National Record Break)
4. First South Asian Games (SAG) (Pakistan): Participant
5. 12th FINA World Championship (Melbourne, Australia): Participant


Her Olympian coaches (Lama and Kumar) will not be going to Beijing because there are no quotas for them, as it is already taken by ‘another person’ of the Nepal Swimming Association. “Obviously, it will make a highly negative differenceto have to participate there without our coach,” says Karishma.

Nevertheless, she says she will give 100 percent in the Olympics. “It was a dream from my childhood to participate in the Olympics. I am really happy about it. I will try to give my best and break my national record,” Karishma promised.

Day 7	Friday (August 15, 2008)
	Session SW13	Start: 18:30	End: 21:16	National Aquatics Center
	18:30-18:53	Women's 50m Freestyle - Heat
Day 8	Saturday (August 16, 2008)
	Session SW14	Start: 10:00	End: 11:20	National Aquatics Center
	10:51-10:57	Women's 50m Freestyle Semifinal
Day 9	Sunday (August 17, 2008)
	Session SW15	Start: 10:00	End: 11:30	National Aquatics Center
	10:27-10:35	Women's 50m Freestyle Medal Ceremony

Prasiddha Jung Shah
Swimmer

Prasiddha Jung Shah is the youngest player among the men who will participate in the upcoming Beijing Olympics. Born in 2046 B.S, Kathmandu, Prasiddha started swimming when he was just 12 years of age.

Second child of the Padam Jung Shan and Sapana Tamrakar Shah, Prashiddha learned to swim with his father. “I started swimming because it fascinated me when my father used to swim,” said Prasiddha.

He is just as happy to be participating in the Beijing Olympics as are the other athletes. He is also hoping to break a national record in the Olympics.

The first competition in which he won a Gold medal was the Little Angel Age Group Swimming Championship (2001). Since then he has participated in many national and international games:

1. 14th National Swimming Championship: 50m/100m freestyle = Gold Medal
2. 9th SAAF Games (Pakistan) = Participant
3. Asian Talent Identification Game (Bangkok) = Participant
4. 10th SAAF Games (Sri Lanka) = Participant
5. First South Asian Games (Pakistan) = Participant
6. 12th FINA World Championship (Melbourne, Australia) = Participant

Right now, Prasiddha is studying at Columbus College in grade 12. He wants to continue with both his swimming career and his studies.

Prasiddha Shah’s game schedule is given below:

Day 6	Thursday (August 14, 2008)
	Session SW11	Start: 18:30	End: 20:40	National Aquatics Center
	18:30-18:58	Men's 50m Freestyle Heat
Day 7	Friday (August 15, 2008)
	Session SW12	Start: 10:00	End: 11:34	National Aquatics Center
	10:00-10:06	Men's 50m Freestyle Semifinal
Day 8	Saturday (August 16, 2008)
	Session SW14	Start: 10:00	End: 11:20	National Aquatics Center
	10:36-10:39	Men's 50m Freestyle Final
	11:10-11:20	Men's 50m Freestyle Medal Ceremony

Phulmaya Kyapchhaki Magar
Shooter

A person of few words, Phulmaya Kyapchhaki Magar was born in Dhanusha District in 2037 B.S as the third child in her family. Her family followed farming as their main occupation and source of survival so she grew up working in the crop fields more than studying in school. However, she was a girl of determination who had her own pace of doing things; she completed her Inter level education.

When she was 18 years old she joined the Nepal Police and in 2058 she started shooting. Within her seven years of shooting she became a national champion and has received many awards. Some of them are given below:

1. National Shooting Competition (2006) = Gold
2. National Shooting Competition (2003) = Silver
3. 9th SAAF Game (2004) = Participant
4. 10th SAAF Game (2006) = Participant
5. 15th Asian Games (2006) = Participant
6. Asian Championship (2007) Kuwait = Participant

With her shy nature, Kyapchhaki says with her sweetest smile, “I am very happy to be participating in the Olympics. Though we had few months of training and preparation I will give my best.”

Phulmaya says though she has been addicted to the game she reminds herself not to enjoy it too much. “If I enjoy more than I need to; there are chances of making more mistakes so I am very serious on my game as it is my duty and responsibility to do better for my country and people,” added Magar.

Kyapchhaki’s game schedule in Beijing Olympic is given below:

Day 1	Saturday (August 9, 2008)
	Session SH01	Start: 08:30	End: 15:50	Beijing Shooting Range (Hall)  Beijing Shooting Range (CTF)
	08:30-09:45	Women's 10m Air Rifle Qualification
	10:30-10:50	Women's 10m Air Rifle Final
	11:05-11:20	Women's 10m Air Rifle Medal Ceremony

Arjun Kumar Basnet
Athlete

Athlete Arjun Kumar Basnet was born in 1932 A.D in Cangel, Solukhumbu. As an only child of his mother, from early childhood he had to be ‘the man of the house’ to fill in for his father who had disappeared when he was just two.

Basnet, who loves reading whenever he has free time, came to Kathmandu after he finished his School Leaving Certificate (SLC). Financially supporting both himself and his mother back home was too hard for a new village boy in Kathmandu. So he left his studies and joined the Army in 2052 B.S. From there, he joined Tribhuvan Army club in 2055 B.S where he started athletics. Even though he loves to watch football, and now athletics has become his own identity too. “It feels good to be known as an athlete even though there is nothing secure for players of any sports in Nepal,” said Basnet.

He said that at the Beijing Olympics he will try his best to break his own National Record. “Going to participate in the Olympics is a dream for everyone who is in sports and at the same time it is the time to shine in the world, so we will work hard to give 100 percent at the Games,” he added.

Like other competitors, he too is unhappy with the plans of Nepali sports authorities who, at the last hour, give training time to their athletes. He says, “If we are to bring medals we have to work for years. The best thing will be to train our children from their early school levels and give them a suitable environment for their development in sports.”

He has won dozens of national Gold medals and has national records and he is happy that his game has given his an identity in the country but he says he regrets that he could not complete his study.

Some of his national and international games are given below:

Year	Games	Country	Position
2007	Kathmandu Marathon	Nepal	First
2007	NRN Half-Marathon (21 km)	Nepal	First
2006	15th Asian Games	Doha	11th position
2006	10th SAAF Games	Colombo, Sri Lanka	Second
2005	Frankfort Marathon	Germany	Participate
2004	9th SAAF Games	Pakistan	Bronze
2002	14th Asian Games	Bushan, Korea	7th Position
2002	Singapore International Marathon	Singapore	13th Position
2002	8th Asian Championship	Hong Kong	7th Position
2001	8th Asian Cross-country (Relay)	Kathmandu	Fourth
	Since 2057, has won all the National Tournaments (35 Gold Medals)

Basnet’s schedule of a game in Beijing Olympics is given below:

Day 16	Sunday (August 28, 2008)
	Session AT17	Start: 07:30	End: 20:07	National Stadium
	07:30-10:30	Men's Marathon Final
	20:00-20:07	Men's Marathon Medal Ceremony

-Smita Magar in Kathmandu

Published: USNEPALONLINE.COM

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