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Showing posts from July, 2021

Nepal at Tokyo Olympic Games

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After much suspense, drama and speculation,the most eagerly  awaited XXXII Summer Olympic Games gets underway at the Olympic Stadium,Tokyo, Japan on  July 23rd,2021. Emperor Naruhito is expected to formally declare open the Games. Let us remind ourselves that this is the second time Japan is hosting the Games.They first hosted the Games in 1964. The 2020 Olympic Games originally scheduled from July 24th to August 9th had to be postponed due to COVID-19. Amidst growing uncertainties, the International Olympic Committee and  host country Japan  decided to finally go ahead with the Games from July 23rd to August 8th.   It is interesting to note that nearly 62 % of Japanese voters polled in June,2021 wanted the Games to be cancelled or postponed.Only 34% supported the idea of the Games going ahead.  The Games in Tokyo will be  very different.Athletes will compete and perform in front of empty stadiums.Spectators will not be allowed into any venues because of Tokyo's new state of emer

Big Challenges Ahead for Nepal

As I expected, the national football team of Nepal exited from the 2022 World Cup Qualifiers recently in Kuwait City,Kuwait. In the final leg of the qualifiers,Nepal played three matches, winning one and losing two to finish fourth in Group B.Australia,Jordan, Kuwait and Chinese Taipei were the other teams in the group. It may be recalled that Nepal’s three home matches were moved to Kuwait City, Kuwait.All in all,Nepal wrapped up the qualifiers with 6 defeats and 2 wins.Unquestionably, they failed to deliver the desired end result. As a matter of fact, Nepal’s fourth place finish in the group and overall performance came as no surprise to me.That said, given the challenging circumstances and opponents' quality,in my opinion,the young team did not underperform. They lived up to our expectations.There is no question about it.They did their very best and gave a spirited performance throughout. They were up against heavyweights in the likes of Australia, Kuwait and Jordan.Obviously, t