Kathmandu : Thirteen athletes from Nepal are set to participate in the Asian Taekwondo Invitational Tournament and the 10th Mansan Taekwondo Open Championship to be held in Nanjing, China. The Nepali contingent comprises five athletes from Little Bud School and eight from Gongbu Taekwondo Dojang.
From Little Bud School, Inaya Maharjan will compete in the U-6 Female Individual Poomsae category. In the U-8 Individual Poomsae events, Abhen Thapa (male) and RB Gyawali (female) will represent Nepal, while Ayam Paudel (male) and Yatna Timilsina (female) will compete in the U-10 Individual Poomsae divisions.
Representing Gongbu Taekwondo Dojang, Sohan Pathak will compete in the Men’s 26 kg category, while Hridiyani Basnet (30 kg) and Jolina Basnet (36 kg) will compete in the women’s divisions. In the Poomsae events, Myra Karki (U-8 Female), Shreyan Karki and Saksham Shrestha (U-12 Male), Ashriya Upadhyay (U-14 Female), and Yujen Tamang (U-18 Male) will also take part.
Saroj Tamang will serve as the head coach for both Little Bud School and Gongbu Taekwondo Dojang. He will be accompanied by coach Bikesh Bidari, while international referee Asmita Khadka will officiate as a judge at the competition.
The team was officially bid farewell at a ceremony held on Saturday by newly appointed National Sports Council (NSC) member Kumar Lama Ghising, Nepal Taekwondo Association member Kabiraj Negi Lama, and Kathmandu District Taekwondo Association President Bikram Khadgi.
On the same occasion, Gongbu and Goldhunga Taekwondo Dojang honored Ghising for his appointment to the NSC. The tournament will be held from December 31 to January 3, and the Nepali team is scheduled to depart for China on Tuesday.
