By Pramod Joshi, Nagoya, Sept. 29: Nepali tennis players endured a challenging outing at the 20th Asian Games in Aichi, suffering early exits across multiple categories while gathering vital experience against world-class opponents.
Teenage pairing Shivali Gurung and Swastika Bista exited the women’s doubles on Monday following a comprehensive 6-0, 6-0 defeat against the experienced Japanese duo of Momoka Kobori and Ayana Shimizu.
Both athletes also bowed out in the opening round of the singles competition, while Gurung and partner Khadka were eliminated at the same stage in the mixed doubles.
Despite the heavy defeats, the teenagers remained optimistic. Fifteen-year-old Gurung noted that competing against top-tier opponents provided a significant confidence boost, though she acknowledged the substantial step up in pace and experience required at senior level.
Meanwhile, the men’s doubles fixture between Pradeep Khadka and Abhisek Bastola and India’s Anirudh Chandrasekar and Balaji Narayanaswamy was postponed due to rain at the Higashiyama Park Tennis Centre. Khadka and Bastola had previously advanced to the second round following a morale-boosting 2-1 victory over a Mongolian pair.
Reflecting on the campaign, Khadka emphasised that facing international stars served primarily as crucial exposure. He highlighted a stark disparity in domestic training facilities, noting that improved home infrastructure and extended preparation time would be essential for future medal contention.
“So far, our journey in the Asiad is simply to gain valuable experience playing top-level athletes,” Khadka said.
Echoing those sentiments, Bastola described the standard of competition at the Games as exceptionally high. “Here we face elite players; it is a demanding game. We are currently lagging behind in tennis, but playing against world-class competitors represents a major opportunity for us.”
Both Khadka and Bastola are scheduled to contest their respective men’s singles events.
Runner Shrestha, Neupane miss out
Nepali athletes endured a challenging outing on Day Ten of the 20th Asian Games, failing to secure breakthroughs in athletics and tennis at the multi-sport continental event in Japan.
Distance runners Santoshi Shrestha and Purna Neupane represented Nepal in the women’s 5000m events at the Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium on Monday.
Shrestha competed in the women’s 5000m race, seeking to build on her national standing.
However, the 35-year-old Olympian, who already bowed out of the 10,000m event after finishing 11th out of 13 runners with a time of 36 minutes and 20.84 seconds.
Shrestha, a 13th South Asian Games gold medalist who holds multiple national records ranging from the 3,000-metre to the marathon, was unable to match her personal bests.
Fellow compatriot Purna Neupane also faced an uphill task, transitioning to the women’s 5,000-metre event following her earlier campaign in the 1,500 metres, where she finished at the back of the pack with a time of 4 minutes and 45.58 seconds.
The Rising Nepal
