Elite’s, DPS start with wins

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KATHMANDU, Aug 10 - Susan Bhandari and Deepak Khabas each registered hat-trick as Elite’s Co-ed School (Red) drubbed RIBS 13-0 in the match played Friday under the Inter-school ANFA Youth Football Championship organised by Ganesh Thapa led All Nepal Football Association (ANFA).

Khabas scored the opening goal of the match in the 10th minute. By the time he would score his second, Bhandari completed his hat-trick with goals coming in the 44th, 54th and 67th minutes. Khabas completed his hat-trick scoring his second and third goal in 69th and 85th minutes.

Saugat Subba, was also among goals finding the net in the 32nd and 35th minutes. The other scorers in the match were, Bikram Maharjan, Suraj Joshi, Bijay Gurung, Anjan KC and Saugat Rathor.

In the day’s other match, Dipendra Police School (DPS) outscored Wilson Academy 6-0. Sujan Gurung was the star of the DPS leading his team to victory with a well deserved hat-trick. The first from his team to find the net, he scored in the 9th, 42nd and 62nd minute. Ashok Gurung, Bikram Gurung and Kamal Thapa also chipped in with a goal each to complete the tennis-like win for DPS.

Saturday’s first match will be between Holyland School and Nightingale School while the second will feature Basu School, Bhaktapur and LRI School.

NSC instructs associations to remain silent

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KATHMANDU, Aug 10 - Last June, the government had made a grave mistake, holding information about the Royal Palace massacre for days. The move, as the concerned authorities would later reveal, was to prevent rumours but the situation had only worsened. The silence led the foreign media to carry reports based on hear and say which eventually provoked anger among the citizens.

Now the National Sport Council (NSC) is heading towards emulating the same mistake. With the 9th South Asian Federation (SAF) Games at the doorstep, the attention is now centered on the preparation of the Nepali national squad. Journalists, though, to their utter dismay, find coaches, players quite indifferent when they declined to talk to them. But why?

NSC, the country’s apex sports body, issued a circular Thursday urging all the officials, coaches and players not to make any statement to the media. The council’s instruction, apparently issued to prevent speculations from spreading, has instead created confusion among players, coaches and journalists here even as the Islamabad Games are fast approaching.

"It might be that the council is worried about its criticism made by the sporting associations, coaches and players," says a coach on condition of anonymity.

The council has come under severe criticism from the associations, who have been demanding the council for more funds to conduct the training in preparation for the 9th SAF Games.

But, Binod Shanker Palikhe, the member-secretary of NSC disagrees with the associations. According to him, the decision is aimed at prevent rumours which have been causing a lot of difficulties to the council as well as to players, officials and associations.

"Some players are just taking undue advantage from the media which only yields frustration for others," Palikhe blames. However, he quickly assured that all the members would be allowed to get in touch with the media for open discussion about game plans, strategies and players’ profile.

25 cricketers selected for U-19 Youth Asia Cup

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KATHMANDU, Aug 10 - The Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) has picked 25 cricketers for the upcoming Under-19 Youth Asia Cup cricket tournament starting from October 11, a CAN press release stated on Friday.

According to CAN, the players selected by a committee, formed by the National Sports Council (NSC), under the coordination of CAN joint-secretary Damodar Narayan Suwal will undergo the first phase of closed-camp training. The tournament, apart from Nepal, will feature Malaysia, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, Maldives, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar.

The winner will qualify for the U-19 Youth World Cup due to be held in New Zealand next year.

Players selected for the camp: Munik Kumar Shrestha, Bardan Chalise, Sanjay Byanjan, Yashwant Subedi, Narendra Bohara, Basudev Thapa, Kaniska Chaugain, Rohit Sharma, Prem Chaudhary, Manoj Katuwal, Prakash Sharma, Binod Das, Dipesh Khatri, Manjit Shrestha, Basanta Regmi, Pramod Basnet, Shakti Gauchan, Lakpa Lama, Irfan Siddhiqui, Sabip Poudel, Amit Rana, Krishna Kunwar, Anil BK, Sanjam Regmi and Murtuja Hawari.