Sat, 12 Oct, 2024

They Need a Genuine Opportunity

By Asmit Ojha

Picture Courtesy: DWIT News

On October 25, 2015, Nepalese Under-19 Cricket Team overcame Ireland by three wickets in a qualifier game held in Kinrara Oval Cricket Ground, Malaysia and got selected for the U-19 World Cup to be held in Bangladesh next year. The young team managed to win all the games in the qualifier series to book their place in the biggest tournament of their age. The highest run scorer in the competition was from the Nepalese team and the only century was also scored by a Nepali batsman. The 'Man of the Match' in the final and the 'Man of the Series' were claimed by Nepalese players.

We always hear achievements in Age Group sports, be it in Cricket or Football, but Nepal is severely lacking big achievements in the National First Team apart from few cricketing achievements in the very recent years. These guys have achieved something really good, but that should never be the end goal of any sporting culture. That should be carried to the highest level and that's exactly what we are lacking right now. Suddenly, there is a hype surrounding this success and best wishes are coming from everywhere, from the Prime Minister to foreign sportspersons. However, there's still a huge suspect on whether this success will be materialized in the long term.

"If we get a chance to train abroad for the upcoming World Cup, then the skills and experience of our team would surely mark higher," Captain Raju Rijal spoke to Nepali Press when they landed in Tribhuvan International Airport on Friday. Similarly, Coach Jaga Tamata supported, "These players have required skills, but there are still a lot of rooms for improvement. They can reach to the national team level in two years, but they need more exposure." These words must be marked because yet another generation of players might go wasted if proper action and plans are not formulated in time.

It's very convincing that the country is going through a very hazardous time; we are backward in education, health, transportation, and amid these conditions, it is difficult to allocate a lot of budget in the sports field by the concerned authority. Big countries spend billions in sports and in order to progress, we also have to invest in future nourishment of available talents and prepare them well for big occasions. Some sporting achievements can really bring joy and happiness among people. When there's nothing to cheer the country up, sports might be handful.

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