Pressure kicks in for Nepal's karate medal hopefuls

KATHMANDU — The heat is on for Nepal's karate athletes as they make their final preparations for the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou.

Expectations are high after Nepal's National Sports Council reportedly listed karate among the country's best chances for medal success at the games.

Biplov Lal Shrestha, a gold medalist at the 2019 South Asian Games, is raring to get the glory bid underway. "I'm going to Hangzhou in high spirits and ready to compete fiercely and win a medal for my country," said Shrestha. "My priority is to secure a gold medal, or at least a medal of another color."

Shrestha is well aware that the Asian Games represent a significant step up in class, with he and his teammates doing their best to level up. "After completing technical training, we've been doing fight-based training," he said.

Nepal has never won gold in any sport at the Asian Games, but has managed two silver and 22 bronze medals. At the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, Nepal claimed silver in paragliding, while the country's other medals were secured in karate, taekwondo and boxing.

Erica Gurung, 19, is set to make her international debut at the Hangzhou Asian Games, which open on Sept 23 and run through Oct 8.

"I'm fully prepared to compete and I will do my best," Gurung said. "My goal is to secure a gold — if not gold, any medal possible."

Nepali athletes won gold medals in 10 out of 19 karate events at the 2019 South Asian Games on home turf.

"I feel we have chances to win medals in karate because we are competitive in South Asia," said coach Kushal Shrestha.

"Since the 2014 Asian Games, we have returned empty-handed in karate. We want to break this trend at the forthcoming Asian Games in Hangzhou."

One concern among the team is whether a late start to their training cycle might have a detrimental effect on its chances at the games.

"Definitely we started late, but we're focusing on our training and I hope a late start will not have any major negative effect on our performance," said Shrestha.

Nepal sent its karate athletes to Belgium for training and Indonesia for a championship in preparation for Hangzhou, explained Yubraj Lama, president of the Nepal Karate Federation.

Lama is, therefore, anticipating big things from the team in Hangzhou. "We're expecting them to perform very well this time," he said.

Besides their medal ambitions, the Nepalis are also treating their Hangzhou trip as a learning experience.

The two karate athletes have never been to China, while the coach and president have never visited Hangzhou. Lama has watched trailers and video clips about Hangzhou, and says he has "some experience "of China's hosting of grand events.

"China has a tradition of arranging excellent events like the Olympics, the Asian Games," he said, describing the Hangzhou Asian Games as the "only international festival" in which Nepali athletes can perform and grow.

"I think it will be amazing, and we'll have a good experience," he added. "The Nepalese team will have a very, very good experience."

Xinhua