 |
Kathmandu Saturday July 21, 2001 Shrawan 06, 2058.
|
Women volleyball players plea
NVA to act
By Purushottam Kattel
KATHMANDU, July 20 - Volleyball, because of its
simplicity, is one of the most ideal sports, especially in a country like Nepal where the
limited plain lands restricts people from taking to other sports like football and
cricket. While there is very little to cheer about Nepali men’s achievement in the
past, the women’s bronze medal winning performance in the 8th South Asian Federation
(SAF) Games is very much fresh in the minds of the home crowd.
However, for some 31 women’s volleyball
players, who have even started training in the run upto the forthcoming 9th SAF Games in
Peshawar, Pakistan, a dark cloud of uncertainty looms around them. The reason— the
Games organizers in Pakistan hinted recently to exclude women’s event in volleyball.
"It’d be a big disappointment for our
players," says Shiva Raj Shrestha, senior volleyball coach. "Because they’re
really motivated this time and we’re pinning high hopes to do one better if not
the gold."
According to Shrestha, the present team is much
stronger than the one which had participated in the 8th SAF Games. Unlike in the men’s
division, there is not much difference among the South Asian women’s teams, claims
the coach, who has been supervising the training since the last two months at Tripureswor
covered hall.
Shusma Thapa, who led the Nepali women’s
volleyball team to its first ever medal, has not given up the hope yet, though.
"There’re still possibility," she says. "The organizers could still be
convinced if the National Sports Council (NSC) and Nepal Volleyball Association (NVA) join
efforts with their parallel bodies from other member countries."
But Binod Shanker Palikhe, member-secretary of
NSC, does not think that would be possible. "It’s entirely upto Pakistani
authorities," he told The Kathmandu Post, when asked about the matter. "All we
can do is to request them at a meeting in August."
There are complaints against NVA, though.
"The association did not bother to contact us in past two years," Thapa blames.
"Whatever we’ve done, it’s purely based on our own effort."
The players at the men’s volleyball camp
are not pleased either with the association’s indifferent approach. "It did not
hold any tournament nor did it send the team to participate in any tournament outside the
country," says Bharat Shah, the men’s team captain. "That is the main
reason why Nepal can not pick up our standard in the country’s most popular
game," Shah points.
Ganga Bahadur Thapa, the president of NVA,
however, cited unavailability of budget to the association as the main cause behind the
problem. "We haven’t been provided enough budget from NSC to run our
program." Thapa laments. "Moreover, the frequent postponement of the National
Games did not allow us to follow our calendar."
But he assures: "We will try to improve on
our previous performance in the 9th SAF Games. We’ve already held a three-month
national level training and the teams are undergoing further training for two months.
He also said talks are on with the Asian
Volleyball Federation (AVF) and other parallel bodies from South Asia as regards inclusion
of women’s volleyball events in the Peshawar Games. |
