The West Asia War has also affected the international paragliding championship held in Pokhara. Out of 90 players from 15 countries registered to participate in the 21st Nepal Open Paragliding Championship organized by the Nepal Air Sports Organization (NA) that began in Pokhara on Thursday, only 63 players from 5 countries have participated.

According to Anil KC, president of the organization, the International Air Sports Federation (FAI), the international governing body of air sports, was informed about the accuracy competition. More than 90 players from 15 countries had registered to come to Nepal since a month and a half ago. As the war intensifies in West Asia, players from those countries and players coming to Nepal via those countries could not participate. ‘As many flights were canceled, players did not want to come, citing security reasons,’ he said. ‘However, the participation of 63 pilots is also encouraging.’

According to him, many players from countries including Austria, Italy, Germany in Europe, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, Lebanon in West Asia and other countries did not come to participate. Currently, 63 pilots, including 1 from India, China, France, Germany and 27 from Nepal, are competing in FAI Category-2. Out of them, 10 are female players.  

What is an accuracy competition? 

Paragliding competitions are mainly of two types. One is ‘cross country’ (flying from one hill to another) and the other is ‘accuracy’ (landing at a specific location). In Nepal, earlier there was an old method of placing an egg in the middle, but now modern equipment is used. Pilots take off from Sarangkot. The equipment is placed at the landing point in Khapaundi, at the head of Fewa Lake. Players fly and land up to 6 times. The one who gets the lowest score, i.e. the one who lands closest to the point where the equipment is located, is declared the winner of the men's, women's and team categories. Since it is an FAI-recognized competition, players also add up their individual points. 

Nepal Air Sports Organization has successfully completed two pre-World Cups and one Asian Championship of paragliding in Pokhara. Earlier, the competition was stopped 5 years ago due to the Corona pandemic. After the death of Nisim Thapa of Pokhara in a paragliding accident at the 9th National Games on Asho 30, 2079, the competition became uncertain after the Civil Aviation Authority stopped solo flights. The authority opened solo flights last year after modifying and adjusting the standards and procedures of solo flights and implementing them properly.

Chairman KC expressed happiness over the restart of the competition. ‘Not only Pokhara but also various mountainous and hilly areas of Nepal are suitable for paragliding and in the future we will continue organizing such competitions in other places as well,’ he said, ‘This will be of great help in introducing Nepal to the international level and promoting tourism.’ He said that the goal is to continue this competition and organize grand programs like Pre-World Cup and World Cup in the coming days. The competition included practice games on Wednesday, and the main competition will be held from Thursday to Saturday. 

After the construction of Pokhara International Airport, commercial flights were being operated from Toripani take-off in Kaskikot. The previous Sarangkot take-off has been used for the entire competition period. Jasoda Subedi, spokesperson for the Civil Aviation Authority Pokhara office, said that a NOTAM was issued for that. “Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) are used when visibility is low, and paragliding flights cannot be allowed in this area,” she said. “Currently, when visibility is good, visual flight rules (VFR) are being used, so we have issued a NOTAM to allow the competition.” 

Paragliding developed from solo flights into a sport as a professional pilot attracted to the sport. Later, ‘tandem’ flights where two people fly started commercially. Sunil Bhattarai, the competition coordinator and former president of the organization, said that the foreign players who came to Pokhara to participate were of international level. “They will spread their experience of the climate and flying field here around the world, which will promote Nepal’s paragliding sector globally,” he said. “On the other hand, paragliding has already won international medals for Nepal. Therefore, the most skilled team that can win medals is in paragliding.” He expressed hope that the return of the

competition will bring Nepali athletes international medals that other sports have not been able to win in the coming days. Nepal’s men’s team won the silver medal in the cross-country category at the 18th Asian Games held in Indonesia in 2018. This was the only medal Nepal has won at the Asian Games in its 20-year history. The team included Vijay Gautam, Bimal Adhikari, Sushil Gurung, Yukesh Gurung and Bishal Thapa. The team’s coach was Yogesh Bhattarai. Japan came first in the competition. “Just as Brazil is known for football, the day is not far when Nepal will be known for paragliding,” Bhattarai said. 

The competition was inaugurated by Pokhara Metropolitan City Mayor Dhanraj Acharya. He recalled that various initiatives have been taken to regularly operate paragliding flights, which are the backbone of Pokhara tourism. He said that solution-focused discussions have been held at various stages regarding the re-operation of paragliding flights, which have been displaced due to the international airport. He urged the businessmen to make paragliding flights, which are the main choice of most tourists visiting Pokhara, more systematic. He suggested strengthening the security aspect and providing quality services to tourists. 

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