Nov 1, 2018-

The new andmajestic cricket ground hosting the ongoing Pokhara Premier League Twenty20 cricket tournament in Pokhara has the potential to change the landscape of not only Nepali cricket but also the international cricket, particularly in South Asia.

Located just over five kilometres away from the city’s prominent tourist hub--the lakeside, the lush green turf overlooking the scenic Machhapuchhre, Dhaulagiri and Annapurna mountains have recently set social media abuzz. From star players and cricketing officials to the crazy fans, many have posed for photographs from the ground with the majestic mountain ranges in the backdrop.

Although the venue may not meet the standards of hosting international events now, Pokhara’s cricket pitch has all the ingredients to make it a spectacular sporting hub in the future. The organisers had to do with makeshift parapet while players’ dugout and media centre are housed under tents. Since the pitch itself was only ready to host the matches just before the tournament began last week, the venue has no permanent facility built on concrete structure.

The majority of the city denizens, however, are cut off from the sporting buzz. Locals and the tourists, captivated by the smell of inter-continental cuisines and live music events, appear least interested in the game that could potentially redefine Pokhara--as cricket hub of the region.

To sustain cricket in a city obsessed with football and volleyball, Pokhara Premier League (PPL) has a long way to go—especially if it is to align its popularity with that of the two other cricket leagues. Rijan Prajoo, an assistant coach with Pokhara Paltan, believes this could just be a start. “PPL obviously is a big draw among the local sport fans who are eager to have a closer look at star players, Nepal’s national team skipper Paras Khadka and Sandeep Lamichhane,” said Prajoo. “It is an encouraging start because this is the first time I have seen such a large crowd at a domestic tournament.”

Pokhara does host some cricket tournaments, but those events have not been able to attract many cricket fans to the ground. Even those who turned up to watch matches in the past were the ones closely connected to the game or the players.

The organisers have made the entrance to the games free in order to encourage fans to watch matches live from the ground. The plan has worked wonders, as around 4,000 spectators on average have been watching the matches at the ground.

Chhumbi Lama, managing director of Queen’s Event Management Pvt Ltd, the PPL organisers, admitted that pulling in spectators was quite a task. “The pitches, lush green outfield and level of competition have so far been fantastic. To attract more fans to the ground is always a challenge.”

His team’s tireless effort has paid off. His team is encouraged by the presence of a large crowd during weekends.

“We need to make sure we upgrade the quality of the competition and facilities. Local authorities are positive in giving this ground a definite shape, and if everything pans out well, cricket could be one of the main assets of Pokhara,” Lama said.

For Prajoo, the premier league is about motivating youngsters to take up the game. “This is the best thing that has happened here,” he said. “Watching their idols play here will definitely fuel more interest and enthusiasm in these kids and eventually raise the popularity of the game.”

Oct 31, 2018-

Nepal passed the first hurdle in their bid to qualify for the AFC U-19 Championship on Sunday but bigger challenges lie ahead for them in April next year.

Nepal earned a ticket to the second Qualifier despite finishing runners-up to hosts Thailand in Qualifying 1 in Chonburi. Nepal, Thailand and India all finished their group tied on six points but the hosts topped the group by virtue of scoring the highest three goals among the teams tied on six points. Despite finishing second in Group ‘B’, Nepal got the automatic qualification to the second round as Thailand did not require to play the Qualifier 2. Their berth in the tournament proper was already secured even before competing in the Qualifier 1 by virtue of being hosts of the Finals.

Nepal lost to Thailand 3-0 but won 2-0 against India and 9-0 against Pakistan. They join traditional Asian sporting powerhouses Australia, South Korea, Iran, Vietnam, Myanmar, Lebanon and Uzbekistan in the second round and coach Hari Om Shrestha accepted his team has a bleak prospect of advancing further from there.

The eight teams in Qualifier 2 will be divided into two groups with only the winners and runners-up from each pool to join Japan, North Korea and China and hosts Thailand in the tournament proper next year. The Qualifier 2 has been scheduled for April 22-30 with the venue yet to be decided.

Shrestha is aware of the fact that all the other seven teams in Qualifier 2 are much better than Nepal. “It’s always a big challenge to play against the likes of South Korea and Australia. To put in some fight against such teams, we really need to work hard for longer period of time,” said Shrestha.

“I am looking to strengthen the squad and will discuss the matter with All Nepal Football Association (ANFA),” said Shrestha adding that his team desperately needs a quality striker and a right winger. Despite facing the grim prospect in the second round, Shrestha still harbours some hopes. “Nothing is impossible in football. It all depends on how we prepare ourselves, mentally and physically, for the tournament,” said Shrestha.

Director of the ‘A’ Division League’s Sanjiv Mishra, considered a football expert by many, agrees with coach Shrestha putting Qualifier 2 teams much better than Nepal looking at their rich sporting history. “Fitness and positive intent will be key while taking on such opponents,” said Mishra adding that better international exposure would be hugely beneficial going into such a competitive event.

“Some teams in Qualifier 2 are almost par with India, the team we beat in Qualifier 1, in terms of quality if we look at the senior level. But historically our team has a tendency of playing without self belief at the international level. So we need to look for ways to provide these players as much international exposure as possible before embarking on Qualifier 2 campaign,” said Mishra.

Mishra also calls for the proper selection procedure to form any such age-group teams. “The current U-19 team was hand-picked after their performance in the senior national football tournament. “ANFA would have got much stronger squad had they formed the team through U-19 national tournament,” said Mishra.

With Qualifier 2 still six months away, Mishra believes ANFA should hold U-19 national tournament, among other initiatives, to get a better squad for the second round.

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नेपालमा :

– १ लाख २० हजार मानिस दृष्टिीविहिन छन् ।

– १० लाख २५ हजार मानिसमा उच्च तथा मध्यम दृष्टिदोषको समस्या रहेको छ ।

– ११ लाख ५० हजार मानिस अन्धोपना वा दृष्टिदोषबाट प्रभावित छन् ।

– दृष्टिदोष भएका मध्ये ८९ % मानिसहरु विकासोन्मूख देशमा बसोबास गर्दछन् ।

– अन्धोपनाको ६६% अन्धोपन उपचार गर्न सकिने खालका छन् ।

– अन्धोपनाको १६% अन्धोपन रोकथाम गर्न सकिने खालका छन् ।

– कुल उच्च तथा मध्यम न्यूनदृष्टि रहेका मध्य ६० प्रतिशत महिलामा रहेको देखिन्छ ।

– न्यूनदृष्टिको मूख्य कारणहरुमा दृष्टिदोष, मोतिविन्दु र जलविन्दु रहेका छन् ।

– दृष्टिविहिनको मूख्य कारणहरुमा मोतिविन्दु, जलविन्दु र आँखाको पर्दा रहेका छन् ।

– पछिल्लो २० वर्षमा संक्रमण जस्तै ट्रकोमाका कारण ले हुने न्यूनदृष्टि समस्यामा वृहत रुपमा घटेको छ ।

– हरेक वर्ष नेपालमा अनुमानित ३० ५ मानिसलाई आँखा जाँच गराउनुपर्ने देखिन्छ ।

– सन् २०१४ मा नेपालमा गरिएको पहिलो र ठूलो सर्भेमा ०.०६% बालबालिकामा बाल अन्धोपन देखिन्छ । त्यसमध्ये ८० %  बालबालिकाहरुको  उपचार गरेर हटाउन सकिने अन्धोपन भेटिएको छ ।

अन्धोपनाका मूख्य कारणहरु :

– मोतिविन्दु र यस सम्बन्धित – ६५ %

– आँखाको पर्दा जन्य रोगहरु– १३ %

– आँखाको नानीमा हुने अन्धोपना– ६ %

– जलविन्दु– ५%

– दष्टिदोष– ४ %

– अन्य–७ %

विश्वमा :

– ३ करोड ६० लाख मानिस दृष्टिीविहिन छन् ।

– २१ करोड ७० लाख मानिस मध्ये १२ करोड ४० लाख मानिसमा दृष्टिदोष तथा ६ करोड ५० लाखमा मोतिविन्दुको समस्या रहेको छ । जसमध्ये ७५ प्रतिशत समस्याको समाधान गर्न सकिन्छ ।

– २५ करोड ३० लाख मानिस अन्धोपना वा न्यूनदृष्टिबाट प्रभावित छन् ।

– १ अरव मानिस नजिकको दृष्टि क्षमता कमजोर भएका छन् ।

– अनुमानित १ करोड ९० लाख बाल बालिकाहरुमा दृष्टि दोष  देखिएको छ ।

– कूल दृष्टि दोष मध्ये झण्डै ६५% मानिसहरु ५० वर्ष र माथिका उमेरका छन् ।

– अन्धोपना र दृष्टिदोषको भार १९९० को ४.५८ प्रतिशत बाट घटी २०१५ मा ३.३७ प्रतिशतमा झरेको छ ।

आँखा स्वास्थ्य सन्देश :

-आँखाले टाढा वा नजिकको वस्तु स्पष्ट देख्न नसक्नु, धमिलो देख्नु, टाउको दुख्नु, आँखा सानो पारेर हेर्नु आदि दृष्टिदोषका लक्षणहरु हुन् । यो समस्या जो कोही र जुनै उमेरमा पनि हुन सक्छ । आँखा धमिलो हुनासाथ सबैले नजिकको आँखा केन्द्रमा गई  जचाँइ हाल्नुपर्दछ ।

– दृष्टिदोष रहेका बालबालिकाको गुणस्तरीय शिक्षा सुनिश्चित गर्न आजै आँखा जाँच गरी उनिहरुको भविष्य उज्वल पारौं । विद्यालय भर्ना गर्नुअघि आफ्ना वालवालिकाको आँखा जाँच गराऔं ।

– दृष्टिदोष हुनेले चश्मा प्रयोग गरौ । दृष्टि दोष समस्या बाट बचौं र बचाऔं ।

– नेपालमा दृष्टि क्षमता कमजोर भएका मानिस मध्ये ६० प्रतिशत महिला छन् । महिलाको आँखा सेवामा एकदमै कम पहुँच हुनको कारण यातायातको असुविधा र उपचार खर्चको अभाव हो । साथै अन्य कारणहरुमा जनचेतनाको अभाव, घरायसी कामकाज तथा पारिवारिक व्यस्तता, निर्णय प्रक्रियामा सहभागिताको कमी,आँखा केन्द्र वा आँखा अस्पताल जान अरुको सहयोग लिनुपर्ने बाध्यता आदि हुन् । तसर्थ महिलामा हुने आँखा समस्याको प्राथमिकताका साथ उपचार गरौं ।

– हरेक ५ जना अन्धोपन भएका मानिसमध्ये ४ जनाको उपचार र रोकथाम सम्भव छ । तसर्थ आजै नजिकको आँखा केन्द्र वा आँखा अस्पतालमा गई आँखाको जाँच गरि अन्धोपना हुनवाट बचौं र बचाऔं ।

– मधुमेह तथा उच्च रक्तचाप भएका सबैले आँखा जाँच गराऔं ।

– ४० वर्ष उमेर पुगेका सबैले आफ्नो आँखा जाँच गराऔं ।

– आँखा स्वास्थ्य सबैको प्राथमिकता स्थानिय श्रोत परिचालन आजको आवश्यकता   ।

– आँखा स्वास्थ्य सेवा हरेक तहका स्वास्थ्य प्रणालीमा एकिकृत गरौ ।

-अतिविपन्नका लागि आँखा स्वास्थ्य सेवा निशुल्क गरौ ।

– विश्वका सवैजसो मुलुकमा पाको उमेरको जनसंख्या वढ्दै गईरहेको पृष्ठभुमिमा ठुलो जनसंख्या उमे
रका कारणले निम्त्यउने अन्धोपनाको जोखिममा रहेको छ ।

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