Lessons From Asiad

The curtain of the 20th Asian Games came down in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan last week that saw over 17,000 athletes from 46 delegations who competed across 43 sports. It is regarded as the second largest sporting event of the world after Summer Olympics. The two-week long multi-sport event of Asia witnessed excellent athletic achievement where 53 world records and dozens of continental milestones were set. Uniting the continent under the official motto, “Imagine One Asia,” Japan hosted the Asian Games for the third time, following Tokyo 1958 and Hiroshima 1994. The sporting powerhouse China once again dominated the continental event securing 341 medals, including 169 gold, followed by the hosts, Japan, and South Korea.  

Yet, for Nepal, the tournament offered a stark reality check. Our nation finished in 36th place with just two bronze medals, one claimed by Tenzing Sherpa in men’s karate and the other by our resilient women’s kabaddi team. Whilst these podium finishes deserve our warmest congratulations, the overall outcome falls well short of the ambitious goals set by state authorities under "Mission 2026". History reminds us that achieving success in this continental sporting fiesta has never been simple for Nepal. Until now, Nepal has managed only three silver medals and 25 bronze medals. It took 35 years after our debut for Bidhan Lama of taekwondo to clinch our first Asiad medal in Seoul in 1986. Sabita Rajbhandari took our first silver in taekwondo in 1998 after 50 years of participation. After two decades, Nepal bagged its second silver in 2018 from paragliding. Karateka Arika Gurung clinched nation's third silver in Hangzhou in 2023. These achievements are isolated flashes of brilliance rather than signs of systemic strength.