By Ankit Thapa
The Asian game has been going at full flow for the past week or so. At the time of writing this piece, Nepal had won two bronze medals, which may not be that satisfactory but it is still a face saving achievement for the country. For Nepal, it is an achievement and the winners of the medals will definitely be rewarded by the government. In the past, Nepal normally came empty handed with no medals to their credit. In fact I still remember one veteran sportsman and high ranking sports official who told me of the incidents when he had gone as an official in the Asian games and he felt embarrassed when the hotel staff asked him how many medals his country had won and he always had to reply to them, ” No medals.”
There were people like him at that time but now the sport officials seem to be totally shameless and aligned to one or another political party. The politicization of most of the sports officials including the top ones has pushed back the development of sports in the country. It would be unfair to blame the players for their alliance with the political parties but sadly it is the truth that their guardians who guide them are totally politicized.
Here we must also not forget the lack of training facilities and equipment required for sportsmen to remain in top form at all times. Now at least some games, particularly cricket has received international exposure but other games are far behind; forget international exposure, they don’t even have enough tournaments within the country.
For example, we still remember when football was the most popular game in the country and regular tournaments used to be held through which the players were encouraged and there were thousands of people who used to throng the then only stadium Dasrath Rangashala in thousands as spectators. This writer remembers a time when the streets of Kathmandu were virtually empty when a good game between two top level clubs clashed with each other.
Now it is sad to see even the cash rich association like the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) suffering not only from mismanagement but also now being in an embarrassing situation where it has even been suspended by the Asian Football Association. May be in the past, ANFA didn’t have enough funds but it didn’t have to suffer such humiliation from the international entity. In fact the All Nepal Football Association was flush with much fund from FIFA and certain individuals took full advantage of these funds. We understand that a house and a stadium were built by ANFA which used to be enclosed within a small room within Dasrath Rangashala. Certain individuals took hundreds of thousands United States dollars just because of their position within ANFA. How can sports or rather to go to point, Football, progress when there are such corrupt individuals heading ANFA.
I still remember a German coach whose name I have forgotten but still remember his last name as Oberman did a lot to give a boost for the development of football in Nepal. He once told me that any sports including football can progress only if it grows in a “Pyramid style.” He had told me that we simply have not enough tournaments or even playing grounds or training facilities which are very essential for the players to move forward and gain experience in whatever game they are involved in.
This maybe like going out of context but when we take the name of Oberman, It would be unfair if we did not mention the name of Sharad Chandra Shah, who was a much unliked man among the public but whose contribution for the development of the sports can never be forgotten. He not only successfully staged the first South Asian (SAF) games but he also initiated the national games which allowed sportsmen and women to participate in competitive national level games but he also introduced women’s football and also did a lot for the construction of many sporting stadiums all over the country. So no matter how unpopular he may be politically, his efforts in the development of the sports in the country cannot be ignored or forgotten.
But to comeback to an important sporting event, perhaps the Asian Games will be nearing its end, so we can presume that Nepal would have done much better in the present Games, had we followed the advice and actions of the stalwarts like those two of those names mentioned above. It is certain politics will not be able to take a small sector like sports, forget the whole nation. So those involved in sports whether they are officials or players, they must focus on only sporting matters and not be involved in any kind of politics.
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