Karate player Biplavlal Shrestha, the gold winner of the 13th South Asian Games, has announced his retirement on Wednesday. Biplav, who came close to a medal in the Hangzhou Asian Games last year, told a press conference that the main reason for announcing his retirement was the discriminatory behavior of the leadership of the Nepal Karate Federation.
He said, "I am not going to give up karate because I want to quit." Because this is my favorite game. I have worked hard in this game for years. But I am forced to leave. That compulsion is the discrimination that took place from the leadership of the Karate Federation (Yuvraj Lama), which was not tolerated.
Erica Gurung won the gold in the 10th Citerio International Championship, Biplav won the silver. He came close to a medal by winning two bouts in Asiad held in China.
He then participated in the US Open Karate Championship and won a gold medal in the 8th South Asian Karate Championship held in Bhutan in July. "On the contrary, I was deprived of international competitions for giving that kind of platform that is my own ability. After playing Asiad, the dream I had for the next Asiad was that I could win a medal, but I was not kept in the Mission 2026 camp, while it was said that all those who won gold in Bhutan would be kept,' said Biplav, who had left karate out of frustration due to pressure from the karate leadership.
He pointedly said, 'Many players cannot say their anger. They are stuck inside. Because everyone has their own reasons. But I could not bear the injustice done to me. I raised my voice against it. This is not only my voice, it is the voice of all karate players.'
Biplav went on to say that due to his close relationship with his mentor and coach Deepak Shrestha, the karate federation adopted a style of neglect. The relationship between Shrestha, the two-time gold medalist and president of NNIPA, with the federation has become strained. Deepak Shrestha assaulted another coach when there was a dispute during the Biplav match in the karate selection competition for the Hangzhou Asiad. Due to which he was suspended from the federation.
