Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: The government has conferred the ‘National Sports Talent Award’ on nine athletes in recognition of their outstanding contributions in the field of sports.
Minister for Youth and Sports Teju Lal Chaudhary handed over the award to the athletes on Monday.
The athletes received a cash prize of Rs 100,000 each along with the award.
Bharat Singh Mehta (Para Taekwondo), Prem Bahadur Limbu (Taekwondo), Bir Bahadur Mahara (Taekwondo), Anuja Kulung Rai (Kabaddi), Manmati Bista (Kabaddi), and Deepa Shahi (Football) were awarded on the occasion. Likewise, Kabiraj Negi Lama (Taekwondo) were honored in the coaching category, Dhan Kumar Mainali (Boxing) in the refereeing category, and Dr Raju Dangol Maharjan in the medical support category.
Meanwhile, the ministry has also conferred the ‘Sports Journalism Encouragement Award’ on 11 journalists—Mukunda Ghimire (Ilam), Sharad Chandra Bhattarai (Bara), Bikram Kumar Baniya (Makwanpur), Din Nath Baral (Kaski), Swastik Shrestha (Butwal), Dinesh Kumar Budha (Dailekh) and Dinesh Bahadur Bista (Baitadi). Namita Dahal (Tanahun) was recognized under the inclusive women’s category, and Rupa Gahtoraj under the inclusive Dalit category, according to the ministry.
The award carries a purse of Rs 25,000 each.
Similarly, the ministry conferred the Sports Journalism Honor Award, which carries a cash prize of Rs 50,000, on Lochan Rajopadhyay.
*Corrected for factual errors – Ed
