Out of the 36 national games, 24 games have been held in Karnali. The provincial government is preparing to hold 11 games in other districts.
What you should know
Sports such as badminton, karate, and taekwondo are being organized daily at the covered hall located in Barahatakura, Musikot Municipality-1, Rukum West. Nearly 20 district-level competitions have been held in the past year. “With easy access to transportation, good accommodation arrangements, and a covered hall with modern facilities, at least 2-3 national competitions can be held here,” said Anil Budha, president of the District Badminton Association. “Practice games are being held almost daily, and players are also enthusiastic about the national games.”
The National Sports Council has invested Rs 7.4 million, the MP Area Development Fund Rs 2 million, Musikot Municipality Rs 1 million and other organizations have invested around Rs 1.5 million in the covered hall. According to him, the covered hall has two courts with facilities like solar lights, electricity, mats, coolers and more.
Indoor practice games and training are also being held daily in the covered halls of Jumla, Kalikot, Dailekh and Salyan. The provincial government has spent around Rs 100 million on those covered halls in the past two years, while the local level has also partnered. ‘The players have not had to leave training even due to lack of infrastructure,’ said Salyan volleyball player Resham Gharti, ‘Karnali will make a good presence in the 10th National Games by making good use of the home ground.’
Jawaharlal Hamal, head of the Youth and Sports Division of the Ministry of Social Development, says that the infrastructure for the National Games to be held in the first week of Falgun is in the preparation stage. According to him, the provincial government has allocated about Rs 280 million for infrastructure construction and sports activities in the current fiscal year. He said that out of 36 games in the National Games, 24 can be played in Karnali. According to him, the provincial government is preparing to play 13 games in Surkhet and 11 games in other districts.
‘12 games including shooting, cycling can also be played in stadiums in Lumbini and Sudurpaschim,’ he said, ‘Covered halls are in preparation in all districts, they can be upgraded and made according to international standards, the work of which can be completed in 1-2 months.’
Manish Khadka, Secretary of the District Cricket Association, Rukum West, said that the players were not able to showcase their potential because the National Games were not held on time. "The federal government has been neglecting to postpone the National Games repeatedly, now the National Games should be held unconditionally in Falgun," he said, "The players are enthusiastic when volleyball, cricket and football competitions are held here during the fairs, and there is hope that Karnali will achieve good results this time due to the enthusiasm and regular practice of the players." He complained that while the Chaurjahari, Dhaireni Chaur and Pandhunga stadiums are idle due to lack of budget, cricket and football players are deprived of practice. According to him, talented players are being produced even from remote areas due to lack of infrastructure. Arjun Gharti from Rukum West is in the national cricket team, while Arbin Gharti has already stayed in the U-19 closed camp. Arjun is an emerging player from Karnali. Dholak Raj Dhakal, Secretary of the Ministry of Social Development, said that the main venue of the 10th National Games, the Karnali Province Stadium, is also in preparation for the competition. According to him, the stadium, which is about 99 percent complete, will accommodate 10,000 spectators, and there is a football field built according to 'FIFA standards.' 16 other games can be played. He said that the stadium has been built to accommodate 4,000 spectators in the VVIP and VIP parapets. 'Now, only general maintenance and cleaning work remains, so the stadium will be handed over within a month,' he said, 'Preparations to be made by the hosting province towards infrastructure for the 10th National Games have been completed.'
An 8-lane 400-meter track has been built for athletics in the provincial stadium. A swimming pool has been built, and outdoor and indoor courts have been built for games such as basketball and volleyball. The covered hall in the stadium complex also has facilities to accommodate about 1,000 spectators. According to him, boxing, taekwondo, wushu, karate, badminton and other games can also be held in the covered hall.
The construction of the stadium, spread over an area of 9 bigahs, began in November 2078. MACGSL JV has signed an agreement for the stadium for which about one and a half billion rupees have been spent so far. Now, about 90 million rupees are left to be paid to the contractor company. For which 90 million rupees have been allocated.
The construction of the Chisapani football field, Kalungchowk rugby field and the cricket field in the province stadium complex have also been completed in Surkhet. The province government has invested about 40 million rupees for these infrastructures. The ministry has stated that the work of the hockey field in Humla for about 710 million rupees has reached the final stage.
The host province is in the process of preparing to manage the infrastructure, housing, health, security and local transport for the national games, said Social Development Minister Ghanshyam Bhandari. According to him, hotels in Birendranagar can accommodate around 3,500 players daily, and the provincial government has already invested around Rs 250 million in infrastructure including roads around the stadium and playground, targeting national sports.
