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NINTH SAF GAMES |
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NINTH SAF GAMES |
New Calendar As the global war on
terrorism comes to the neighborhood, the South Asian Federation postpones the ninth
regional games by six months By SANJAYA DHAKAL With South Asia, and the host nation
Pakistan, in particular, turning into a key theater of the global war on terrorism, the
Ninth South Asian Federation (SAF) Games have been put off by six months. Originally scheduled to take place in
Islamabad, Pakistan between October 6 and 15, the September 11 terrorist attacks on the
twin towers of the World Trade Center (WTC) in New York and the Pentagon in Washington and
subsequent developments had raised doubts about the fate of the tournament. The aftermath
of the attacks seven seas away took a menacing turn after the US government pointed an
accusing finger towards Osama bin Laden, who is hiding in the mountains of Afghanistan,
Pakistanís next-door neighbor.
And, now, one week after the host
nation called off the games in the wake of impending US retaliatory attacks against
Afghanistan, it has rescheduled them for March 30-April 4, 2002. Amid growing anxiety, an
October 6 meeting of the executive committee of the SAF, held in Rawalpindi, Pakistan,
decided to postpone the match and reschedule it for early next year. Representatives from all member states of
the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), except Nepal and India,
participated in the meeting. According to Rukma SJB Rana, president of Nepal Olympics
Committee, although the two countries did not participate in the meeting, they had agreed
to abide by the decision taken by the SAF executive committee. He said he was in constant
touch with the officials of the SAF executive committee, who had expressed optimism that
the clouds of war hovering over the region would be cleared by March. The games were expected to draw over 1,600
sportspersons from the SAARC region. The National Sports Council (NSC) was preparing to
send a 213-member strong delegation, including 157 athletes, to the Islamabad games. The
government has already sanctioned funds and the NSC estimates that Nepalese participants
will spend Rs 36.6 million on the games. All seven members of SAARC ó Bangladesh,
Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka ó participate in the games,
held every two years. The 14 disciplines that were to be played in Pakistan included
athletics, boxing, football, kabaddi, karate, shooting, swimming, table-tennis, taekwondo,
volleyball, weight-lifting, wrestling, badminton and squash. The Nepalese athletes had been in
close-camp training for the games. Some players had been sent abroad for training.
Taekwondo players were sent to Bangkok, while karate players were in Iran. Boxers were
sent to Pakistan. Following the uncertainty, training sessions for the athletes have been
suspended. However, according to Rana, the athletes will receive further training after
the festival of Tihar. In the 8th SAF Games held in Kathmandu in
1999, Nepal had bagged 31 gold medals, standing second in the medal tally, behind India.
As many as 28 of the 31 golds that Nepal won last time came from two disciplines of
martial arts ó karate and taekwondo ó with female athletes chipping in with the bounty.
Boxing and swimming had roped in the remaining three gold medals. This year, however, Nepalese athletes had
anything but smooth sailing. The sports calendar was disturbed when the June 1 royal
tragedy led to the cancellation of the fifth national games. As the athletes were
participating in the training sessions with the heavy heart, the sudden postponement of
the SAF games further dampened their spirit. The third Youth Asia Cup Cricket is
scheduled to start at the Tribhuvan University ground in Kirtipur from October 11. The
tournament features only non-Test playing nations. Eight countries will participate in the
Kathmandu games, including United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Qatar, Kuwait (Group A), Nepal,
Singapore, Oman and Maldives (Group B). The grounds at St. Xavierís School, Jawalakhel
and Institute of Engineering, Pulchowk, will also be used, according to the organizers.
Jai Kumar Nath Shah, president of the Cricket Association of Nepal and secretary of the
tournament organizing committee, has said the games would help enhance Nepalís stature in
international cricket. The first match is slated between Nepal and Oman on October 11. The
winner of the tournament will qualify for the Youth World Cup to be held next year in New
Zealand. The first and second Youth Asia Cup was held in Hong Kong (1997) and in Singapore
(1999) respectively. The CAN expects the cost of hosting the tournament would be around Rs
4.5 million. The cost would be met through the aid from Asian Cricket Council, National
Sports Council and sponsorships. Meanwhile, the CAN has released the names of the final 14
Nepalese players who would take part in the tournament. Binod Das would lead the Nepalese
team. The team was selected by a committee formed under the NSC. |
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