Nepal will send record number of 13 boxers to the Asian Games
Nepal registered record number of boxers to the upcoming Asian Games which will be the first Olympic Qualifier in the continent. Nepal selected maximum number of six female and seven male boxers to the Asian Games for the very first time and the country is aiming for its first medal since the last 2010 edition.
Mr. Deepak Maharjan, one of the top coaches in Nepal, earned Nepal’s last medal in the Asian Games in Guangzhou thirteen years ago. He will be one of the delegation members as a 3-star coach and joining him Mr. Prabin Tuladhar, Mr. Raj Shrestha and India’s experienced trainer, Mr. Shiv Singh to support the team.
Nepal had national selection events in more phases this year and the country reached historic results in female boxing during the top international championships. Six strong female boxers have been selected to participate in Hangzhou and all of them have international experiences.
Nepal has three excellent boxers at the women’s light flyweight (50kg) and finally Sushma Tamang, their historic ASBC Asian U22 Boxing Championships silver medallist, fought out the chance to represent the South Asian country. The ASBC Grand Slam silver medallist Minu Gurung moved up to the bantamweight (54kg) successfully and she has enough number of bouts to make surprises in Hangzhou.
Nepal’s best female hope at the women’s featherweight (57kg) is Chandrakala Thapa who competed at the Women’s World Boxing Championships and the ASBC competitions as well. Sangita Sunar found her best category, she will compete for Nepal at the women’s lightweight (60kg). Binita Thapa Magar (66kg) and the veteran Saraswati Rana Magar (75kg) are the additional members of the women’s national team.
Seven male boxers were invited to the final preparations for the Asian Games including Rabin Thapa who represented Nepal in the last two editions of the Men’s World Boxing Championships. Buddha Gyamjo Lama is relatively newcomer at the men’s featherweight (57kg) but Bhupendra Thapa Magar has the international experience to be a hard opponent.
Dipesh Lama moved up to the light middleweight (71kg) and won the selections trials in the recent weeks. A veteran Asian Games competitor Deepak Shrestha switched to the light heavyweight (80kg) while Rabin Nepal is their new heavyweight (92kg) addition. A former ASBC competitor, Ashish Dawadi is a tall super heavyweight (+92kg) boxer with athletic skills who could be a surprise in Hangzhou.
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