The 21st edition of the Nepal Open Paragliding Championship (Accuracy Competition) is being organized in Pokhara with the aim of promoting adventure tourism.

The competition, which will be held from 5 to 7 Chaitra under the organization of Nepal Air Sports Association (NA), is being held after 5 years.

Earlier, the competition was stopped after the Civil Aviation Authority banned solo flights after Pokhara's Nisim Thapa died in a paragliding accident during the 9th National Games.

The competition is being held this year after solo flights were allowed last year. This time too, the competition will be conducted under the internationally recognized FAI Category-2. The organizers informed this at a press conference in Pokhara on Monday that about 90 percent of the preparations for the competition have been completed.

According to the organization's president Anil KC, 100 pilots from 7 countries will participate in the competition. He said that the European pilots who had expressed interest in participating in the competition could not participate due to the tensions in West Asia. ‘The competition that was supposed to be held in February was postponed to March due to the elections,’ he said. ‘10-15 pilots who were supposed to come from Europe were stopped there due to the war in Central Asia.’

He said that the competition will play a supporting role in sending a message that Pokhara’s paragliding will return to its old rhythm as it will land at Khapaundi from the old airstrip in Sarangkot.

According to Sunil Bahadur Bhattarai, coordinator of the main organizing committee of the competition and current president of the organization, about 90 players, both domestic and foreign, have registered their names for the competition so far, and the final number of participants is estimated to reach about 100.

The competition is expected to contribute to the promotion of Nepal’s tourism through adventure sports. ‘Paragliding is an adventure sport with potential for Nepal. We believe that this competition will help to make the tourism sector dynamic and prepare Nepali players for international competitions,’ he said.

According to him, the players selected from the competition will be able to participate in various national and international level paragliding competitions. There is also a plan to select Gandaki province-level players for the 10th National Games from this.

Maniraj Lamichhane, Head of the Nepal Tourism Board Gandaki Province Office, said that paragliding is an activity that cannot be missed for tourists coming to Pokhara. 'Such international level programs convey a message about Nepal's tourism to the world community,' he said, 'We hope to attract more and more adventure tourists.'

The competition has been organized before in collaboration with the Nepal Air Sports Organization and the Trekking Agencies Association of Nepal (TAAN) Gandaki Province. In recent years, the Pre-World Cup and the Asian Continental Championship have also been organized in Nepal as a preparation for the Paragliding World Cup.

The competition, which was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the ban on solo flights imposed by the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal for some time, is going to be resumed. The estimated cost of the competition is about 3 million rupees.

The competition will be held in three categories: accuracy men, accuracy women and team. The first, second and third place winners in the men's category will receive 150,000, 100,000 and 50,000 rupees respectively. The prize money for the women's and team categories is 75,000, 50,000 and 25,000 rupees.

The competition's security coordinator Yogesh Bhattarai said that the flights will be conducted based on the weather conditions to make the competition safe. "The official weather forecast will be studied before the game and the players will be given a detailed briefing on wind direction, temperature, thermal activity and possible risks," he said.