Sports in Nepal

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Sports in Nepal comprise both traditional Nepalese and modern international games. The most popular sports in Nepal is football & cricket followed by volleyball.[1][2] Volleyball was also declared as national sport of Nepal, on 23 May 2017.[3] Before 2017, traditional games like dandi biyo & kabbadi was considered as the de facto national games.

Fully packed Dasarath Stadium during football against Afghanistan in 2013 SAFF Championship

## Sports events[edit]

### Olympics[edit]

Main article: Nepal at the Olympics

Nepal first competed in the summer Olympics at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and has competed in eleven straight summer Olympics starting from the 1972 Munich Olympics. Nepal has also competed in four winter Olympic events first competing in the 2002 Salt Late City Olympics and last competed in the event at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. As of 2018, Nepal has not won a medal in any of the Olympic events.

### Asian Games[edit]

Main article: Nepal at the Asian Games

Nepal competed at first Asian Games in 1951 at New Delhi and won its first medal at the event in the 1986 Seoul Games, winning 8 bronze medals. As of 2018, Nepal has won 2 silver medals and 22 bronze medals at the event.

### South Asian Games[edit]

Main article: South Asian Games

Nepal has competed in every edition of the South Asian Games and has hosted the event in 1984, 1999 and 2019. As of 2019, Nepal is the fourth-most successful country, winning 679 medals winning 130 gold medals, 182 silver medals and 367 bronze medals.

### National Games[edit]

Main article: National Games of Nepal

The Nepal Olympic Committee and the National Sports Council hosts the National Games of Nepal every two or three years. The event is meant to identify talent for the South Asian Games, Asian Games and Olympic Games as well as develop sporting infrastructure throughout the country. The National Games have been held eight times with the first event being held in 1982 at Kathmandu.

## By sport[edit]

### Team sports[edit]

#### Football[edit]

Main article: Football in Nepal

Football (also known as soccer) is one of the most popular sports in Nepal. The All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) is the governing body of Nepalese football that organizes the men's and women's national teams.

Football was introduced to Nepal during the Rana regime in the 1921.[4] Since its introduction play was mostly limited to the Kathmandu Valley but since the turn of the millennium more tournaments have started to be organized throughout the country. The Martyr's Memorial A-Division League is the premier football league in Nepal and has been organized since 1955.

The Nepal national team was organized in 1972 after being affiliated to FIFA in 1971 and lost to China in their first official match. Nepal regularly participates in tournaments organized by the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and was the winner of the 2016 AFC Solidarity Cup.

#### Cricket[edit]

Cricket is one of the most popular and widely followed sports in Nepal. It rapidly grew popularity in the mid 2010s, following the slight successes of the Nepalese cricket team as well as the country's explosive rise in social media and television viewing influence from neighboring country India.

Main article: Cricket in Nepal

The Nepal national cricket team is controlled by the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) which was founded in 1946.[5] CAN became a member of the National Sports Council in 1961 and was awarded affiliate status by the International Cricket Council in 1988 and since 1996 has been recognized as an associate member.[6] Nepal has been successful in regional events organized by the Asian Cricket Council, placing first in the ACC Fast Track Countries Tournament in 2006/07 and sharing the title with the United Arab Emirates in the 2012 ACC Trophy Elite. The women's team made their debut in 2007 and has qualified for the Women's Asia Cup in 2012 and 2016.[5] Nepal qualified for the 2014 ICC World Twenty20 which was the only appearance by the senior men's team at a major ICC event, which also gave them Twenty20 International (T20I) until 2015.[7] The national under-19 team has qualified for the Under-19 Cricket World Cup seven times including winning the Plate Championship in 2006.

Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground

Nepal claimed One Day International (ODI) status for the first time with their six wicket win over Papua New Guinea in the 2018 Cricket World Cup Qualifier play off encounter on 15 March 2018.[8][9] The men and women's team both currently have T20I status as a result of an ICC decision to expand the status to all member nations.[10]

#### Volleyball[edit]

Volleyball was declared the national sport of Nepal on 23 May 2017.[3] The Nepal Volleyball Association (NVA) is the governing body of volleyball in Nepal and organizes the men's and women's national teams. Nepal competes in tournaments organized by the Central Asian Zonal Volleyball Association which operates under the Asian Volleyball Confederation.

As in many other countries, women's volleyball is more popular than men's.[11] it is played in all 77 district which means all part of nepal

### Individual sports[edit]

#### Swimming[edit]

Gaurika Singh participated at the 2016 Summer Olympics, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as the youngest Olympian, representing Nepal in the Women's 100m backstroke.

## Leagues[edit]

Sport  | Domestic League

|

Men  | Women
Association football | Martyr's Memorial A-Division League

Nepal Super League

| National Women's League[12]
Cricket | Prime Minister One Day Cup

Nepal Premier League[13]

| Prime Minister Women's T20 Cup
Volleyball | NVA Men's National Volleyball Club League  | NVA Women's National Volleyball Club League
Basketball | Nepal Basketball League | Nepal Women's Basketball League
MMA | Nepal Warriors Championship  | Nepal Warriors Championship

## See also[edit]

* Traditional games of Nepal

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Changing Trend In Nepali Sports". GorakhaPatra. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
2. ^ "Nepal Sports - The Most Popular Sports in Nepal". Kevmrc. 11 April 2022. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
3. ^ a b "It's official: Volleyball is the national sport of Nepal – OnlineKhabar". 23 May 2017. Archived from the original on 23 May 2017. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
4. ^ "ANFA | About". the-anfa.com. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
5. ^ a b "About – Cricket Association of Nepal". Retrieved 6 September 2020.
6. ^ "Nepal can become a major cricketing force among associate countries". Cricket Country. 7 April 2013. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
7. ^ "Nepal enters ICC World Twenty20 with thrilling win". www.icc-cricket.com. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
8. ^ "Nepal make cricket history after securing ODI status". Retrieved 8 September 2018.
9. ^ "'Biggest day in Nepal cricket history' - Khadka". ESPNcricinfo. 15 March 2018. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
10. ^ "All T20 matches between ICC members to get international status". www.icc-cricket.com. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
11. ^ "Volleyball is my first love: Shahi". The Himalayan Times. 22 December 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
12. ^ "ANFA | National Women's League and National Team training postponed until further notice". the-anfa.com. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
13. ^ "Cricket governing body gives nod to lease proposed Nepal Premier League T20 to Indian company". kathmandupost.com. Retrieved 19 November 2020.

## Further reading[edit]

* "Football at the heart of the Himalaya". FIFA. Archived from the original on 9 September 2005. Retrieved 23 September 2005.

## External links[edit]

* National sports commission of Nepal
* Ministry of youth and sports, Nepal

* v
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Nepal articles

History|

| Ancient|

* Bhadrabahu

| Shakya Republic|

* Gautama Buddha
* Maya (mother of Buddha)

|

Kirata Kingdom|

* Yalamber

Lichchhavi rule|

* Manadeva
* Amshuverma
* Bhrikuti
* Araniko

Medieval
and
modern|

* Arimalla
* Khasa kingdom
* Baise Rajya
* Chaubisi Rajya
* Newa kingdoms

| Early Shah rule|

* Gorkha Kingdom
* Prithvi Narayan Shah
* Unification
* Kalu Pande
* Kingdom of Nepal
* Monarchs
* Sino-Nepal War
* Bhimsen Thapa
* Anglo-Nepal War
* Balbhadra Kunwar
* Treaty of Sugauli

|

Rana rule|

* Kot massacre
* Jung Bahadur Rana
* Tibetan War (Treaty of Thapathali)
* Tribhuvan
* Nepal–Britain Treaty of 1923

Post-Rana and Panchayat|

* 1951 revolution
* Panchayat system
* Back to the Village campaign

Multi-party democracy|

* Jana Andolan I
* Royal massacre
* 2005 coup d'état
* Civil war
* Jana Andolan II
* 2015 earthquake - April \- May

Geography|

| Mountains|

* Himalayas
* Mount Everest
* Kanchenjunga
* Makalu
* Dhaulagiri
* Manaslu
* Annapurna

|

Areas|

* Cities of Nepal
* Kathmandu Valley
* Terai
* Inner Terai Valleys of Nepal
* Tibetan Plateau
* Siliguri Corridor (Chicken's Neck)

Rivers|

* Arun
* Karnali (Ghaghara)
* Koshi (Kosi)
* Narayani (Gandaki)
* West Rapti

Environment|

* Climate change
* Deforestation
* Protected areas
* Wildlife

Politics|

* Constitution
* Constituent Assembly
* Elections
* Foreign relations
* Military
* Chief of the Army Staff
* Parliament
* Provincial assemblies
* Political parties
* Communism
* Heads of state
* President
* Vice President
* Prime Minister
* list
* Council of Ministers
* Supreme Court
* Chief Justice

| Divisions|

* Districts
* Provinces
* Municipalities
* Rural Municipalities

|

Cities|

* Bharatpur
* Biratnagar
* Birgunj
* Damak
* Hetauda
* Itahari
* Janakpur
* Kathmandu (capital)
* Lalitpur
* Nepalgunj
* Pokhara

Economy|

* Agriculture
* Energy
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* South Asian Free Trade Area
* Rupee (currency)
* Squatting
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Culture|

* Cuisine (wine)
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| Festivals|

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* Ubhauli
* Gyalpo Lhosar
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* Sonam Lhosar
* Holi
* Chhath
* Chasok Tangnam
* Chhechu
* Jatra

| Celebrations|

* Nwaran
* Pasni
* Bratabandha
* Ihi
* Bahra
* Shraddha
* Antyesti

|

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