STORY: Nepali karate players expecting high of Hangzhou Asian Games
DATELINE: Sept. 5, 2023
LENGTH: 00:02:06
LOCATION: Kathmandu
CATEGORY: SPORTS

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the training
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): YUBRAJ LAMA, President of Nepal Karate Federation
3. various of the training
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): YUBRAJ LAMA, President of Nepal Karate Federation

STORYLINE:

Biplov Lal Shrestha and his teammates have been practicing hard these days, as the Nepali karate athletes are aiming for medals at the 19th Asian Games to be held in Hangzhou, China in less than three weeks.

Nepal's National Sports Council has reportedly listed taekwondo, karate and boxing as potential medal-earners at the Hangzhou Asian Games, while Shrestha himself was a gold medallist at the 2019 South Asian Games.

"I'm going to Hangzhou with high spirits and compete fiercely and win a medal for my country," said Shrestha.

Nepal has never won a gold medal at past Asian Games, but secured silver twice and 22 bronzes. In the 2018 Asian Games, Nepal got silver in paragliding, while all other medals were secured in karate, taekwondo and boxing on other occasions.

Nepal is sending its karate athletes to Belgium for training and Indonesia for a championship in preparations for the Hangzhou Asian Games, according to Yubraj Lama, president of Nepal Karate Federation.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): YUBRAJ LAMA, President of Nepal Karate Federation
"The Chinese have a tradition of arranging excellent events like the Olympics, the Asian Games, Youth (Games) and so many events."

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): YUBRAJ LAMA, President of Nepal Karate Federation
"Hangzhou, I'm coming."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Kathmandu.
(XHTV)