Pokhara – ‘The stage is ready’. The NSJF Pulsar Sports Awards, considered the biggest and most prestigious award in Nepali sports, is entering a new chapter on Wednesday. All the editions of the awards so far have been held only in Kathmandu. This time, the 22nd edition is being held in Pokhara, at the auditorium there.

The organizer Nepal Sports Journalists Forum (NSJF) has also said that all the preparations have been completed. The eve of the awards program also received a sweet addition, the Twenty-20 World Cup trophy. This was largely unexpected, but it added a lot of excitement to the program.

The trophy was displayed at the Sports Summit organized on Tuesday, the day before the award program. The Twenty-20 World Cup will be held in India and Sri Lanka in February, and the trophy arrived in Nepal in that process. The trophy arrived in Pokhara only on Tuesday and it was a privilege to display it at the Sports Summit.

Meanwhile, the forum's president Niranjan Adhikari said that he was very excited about the program. He said, "All the necessary preparations for the program have been completed. Now we are eagerly waiting for the award program. Initially, we had to face many challenges while organizing the award program in Mofasal. But after coming to Pokhara, we have seen more opportunities than challenges. I think Pokhara will now become a destination for national and international award programs.'

Similarly, MB Astha Magar, President of NSJF Gandaki of the forum, said that organizing the award program has added a new chapter in the history of Pokhara sports. He said, 'Pokhara city has been established as a sports hub. Now, with the successful organization of the Sports Award, Pokhara's sports field has become more comprehensive and wider.' The Pokhara Metropolitan City is the promoter of the award. The main sponsor of the award is Golchha Group, while Yeti Airlines has been added as a powered by.

The voting partner of the Sports Award is Khalti and the clothing partner is Kelmi Nepal. This time too, awards will be given in 10 categories. These include Male Player of the Year, Female Player of the Year, Youth Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, People's Choice Award, Para Athlete Honor, Special Award, Lifetime Achievement Award, Team of the Year and Asian Sports Journalist Award. The players nominated for the People's Choice Award are Bijaya Sinjali of Usu, Ivana Thapa of table tennis, Himal Sunari of volleyball, Pooja Mahato of cricket and Rekha Poudel of football.

Pokhara is the 'sports hub' of Nepal

A panel discussion was held on the occasion of the summit organized at the Majestic Hotel in Pokhara and the topic was, sports tourism and economy in Pokhara. The gist of the program conducted by Pokhara journalist Dipendra Shrestha was that Pokhara is undoubtedly a 'sports hub'.

There is a lot of potential for the development and expansion of sports in Pokhara. But the challenges are not only numerous, there is also a lot of work to be done.

The experts participating in the program were Sunil Sharma, officiating director of the Nepal Tourism Board, Tanklal Ghising, former member secretary of the National Sports Council, Ashok Palikhe, founder chairman of the Pokhara Tourism Board and Gopi Bhattarai, coordinator of Pokhara Visit Year.

During that time, Sharma said that there is a lot of potential for sports in Pokhara. He said that since tourism promotion always needs a new dimension, sports can be an option.

Former council member Ghising emphasized that direct participation of the private sector is necessary to develop and expand Pokhara's sports tourism. He said that a policy should be made for this.

Similarly, Bhattarai complained that the physical infrastructure in Pokhara is sufficient but there are no competitions to suit it. He claimed that the necessary coordination is not being done to organize sports competitions. Palikhe also said that Pokhara is very rich in physical infrastructure, but its utilization is low. He said that the number of competitions held in Pokhara needs to be encouraged.

'Sports are a major part of tourism'

Pokhara Mayor Dhanraj Acharya said that Pokhara is the capital city of tourism and sports are a major part of it. On the eve of the award program, Mayor Acharya said, '12 months in Pokhara are suitable for organizing sports. This has also been proven by the organization of the 9th National Games. Pokhara is also rich in physical infrastructure for sports. We want more and more national and international competitions to be held in Pokhara.'

He thought that the Sports Award is one of the links in that. He added, 'Pokhara regularly hosts competitions like Aha Rara Gold Cup, Pokhara Marathon, Dragon Board Race and Triathlon. Therefore, Pokhara is always ready for the development of sports. In this context, we are very happy to organize this Sports Award program in Pokhara. In particular, this award is an opportunity to inspire players to play better.'