A very disturbing idea. Japan is hosting the Asian Games in September-October 2026. What will happen if Nepal does not participate in it? It will be unbearable. If Nepali sports does not take any concrete decision and move forward very soon, Nepal's participation in the 20th Asian Games will be plunged into uncertainty and confusion.

If Japan is Nepal's oldest and closest friend country, it will be like an unimaginable accident if Nepal does not participate in the biggest tournament of the Asian Games held there. Within one month, Nepal will have to send the number of players who will compete in the games they will participate in. Its deadline is September 16. Today is exactly one month from August 16th.

Now some of the athletes participating in the same Asian Games are in training. They have also expressed their disappointment after the participation in the competition itself was confused. Currently, players from 9 sports are training for Mission 2026. They are in a desperate situation. The reason for all this is to deny the existence of the Nepal Olympic Committee (NOC), which is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Jeevanram Shrestha is currently the president of NOC. He was elected in the elections held last December. The NOC under his leadership has been recognized by the IOC and the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA). The government of Nepal considers it illegal. The government is also locking the NOC building in Satdobato. Youth and Sports Minister Tejulal Chaudhary is leading all this work.

According to the schedule of the upcoming Asian Games, NOC has sent a list of games that Nepal will participate in 30 games. Now, the number of players who will participate in that game has to be declared. Then the names of those number of players have to be sent. And finally the final list will be decided. If the number of participating players is not sent within the next one month, the situation will be that Nepal will not participate at all.

This will be a very sad situation. It is sure to destroy Nepali sports," says NOC President Shrestha. Another big problem is the letter sent by the Ministry of Youth and Sports to the Ministry of Home Affairs, in which officials and members of NOC have been asked to stop going abroad for foreign trips and other events. Accordingly, NOC officials are not able to go to the meeting.

The work of writing a letter to the Ministry of Youth and Sports to make necessary arrangements for this was done by the 119th board meeting of the National Sports Council. In that letter, it has been asked to freeze the bank account of the Nepal Olympic Committee, to stop participation in foreign and other programs and to stop the unauthorized use of government material assets. Names of 14 officials of NOC are also specified in it.

"None of us have committed any serious crime, so this in itself is unconstitutional and a violation of the fundamental rights of individuals," argued Chairman Shrestha. The officials of the NOC will have to go to Japan or other countries to decide the participation and other programs in the upcoming Asian Games. At that time, if those officials are banned from going abroad, it is certain that Nepal's participation will be uncertain once again.

The ad hoc committee controversy Only this week, the ad hoc committee of the Nepal Olympic Committee has also been formed. It is said that it has 9 members. But so far, who is in it, the exact name has not come out. Dhruv Bahadur Pradhan is its president. He himself was once the president of the IOC-backed NOC. It is claimed that this ad hoc committee was formed by the officials of some sports associations. The

press release was done by Samimmian Ansari. However, it does not mean much. In opposition to this, NOC issued a press release saying that it will only increase the controversy. "If someone gathers in one place and forms an ad hoc committee, it makes no sense," says Chairman Shrestha. Almost all of the 23 national associations that are believed to have gathered to form an ad hoc committee do not even have international recognition .

The main problem is its unauthorized use of the Olympic letterhead, logo, Olympic rings and flag. Sports Minister Chaudhary has said that Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has instructed to form an ad hoc committee. Before that, Minister Chaudhary along with 23 union presidents and general secretaries and some office bearers had met the Prime Minister and requested to form an ad hoc committee.

According to information received by Kantipur, Prime Minister Oli was initially positive about this, but later he said to start the necessary process only after understanding with all concerned, he did not ask to form an ad hoc committee. According to sources, Minister Chowdhury prepared the environment for forming an ad hoc committee by giving a different meaning to the Prime Minister's statement. However, there is no direct participation of the Ministry of Sports and the National Sports Council in the creation of ad hoc committees.

'Stay order' claim of misinterpretation

The NOC elections held in Pus elected Shrestha as the president for the third term. In that election process, most of the officials of the union who sat in the ad hoc committee and gathered for that participated. But the government is not accepting it. A stay order was issued by the Patan High Court in a case seeking to stop the same election, but the NOC believes that it was misinterpreted.

"Our election process was over in the morning, but we received the stay order only after 2 o'clock," Shrestha said, "Again this was not about stopping the election." This is being misinterpreted. Out of the 5 sports associations that filed a case in the Patan High Court, four have withdrawn it. Only the Nepal Cavalry Association has not taken it back.'

What is the solution?

This is almost what will happen if this current dispute is not resolved very soon, confusion in Nepal's participation. Furthermore, Nepal may be banned by the IOC, because no international sports organization will accept government interference under any conditions. The only solution to this controversy is the way the International Olympic Committee moves forward. Just accept the process as it is.

"We are also ready to talk to Sports Minister Choudhary, but he is not giving time," President Shrestha says, "We are the representatives of the International Olympic Committee in Nepal." We will follow the same rules and regulations. We did the revision of the constitution and the election process with the approval of the IAC. If there was no approval of the IOC, the election would not have taken place.'' We would not be accredited if we were not accredited by these two institutions. This is not a rule made only for us, it is a rule applicable to all member countries.'