Nepal’s athletics campaign in the 12th South Asian Games ended with just one bronze medal as the country went medal-less in both the men’s and women’s marathon in Guwahati on Friday.

Bhumi Raj Rai and Khim Bahadur Khatri disappointed in the men’s marathon, while    only Swarupa Khadka managing to complete the 42.195km course in women’s marathon. Pushpa Bhandari didn’t finish the race.

The men’s football team prepared for their semi-final match against Maldives on Saturday, while the women’s side will take on Sri Lanka in their last round robin league game having already made it to the final of the event.

Nepal’s most successful discipline in the Games, wushu, ran into trouble after the players alleged the team management to have deserted them  to fend for themselves in difficulties.

Faltering athletics

Nepali athletics holds a bright legacy maintained by legendary marathon runner Baikuntha Manandhar, who holds a record of claiming three consecutive gold medals in the SA Games history from 1984 to 1987. But after the exit of Manandhar, Nepali athletics, particularly marathon, has not yet produced a runner who can replicate the achievement of the living legend.

Rajendra Bhandari had won marathon gold during the 2010 11th SA Games in Dhaka but it was later officially registered as road race following a glitch from the organisers in mapping the distance.

On Friday, Bhumi Raj Rai finished fifth with a timing of 2:32:21 and Khatri was a spot behind him, clocking 2:39:56. Their timing was a way behind the SA Games record time of 2:14:03 set by Manandhar during the 1987 meet in Kolkata. Manandhar’s record still stands.

Nitender Singh Rawat of India claimed gold in 2:15:18 just one second ahead of Indra Anuradha Cooray of Sri Lanka. Khetha Ram of India finished third, completing the distance in 2:21:14. Khadka, who was given a wild card at the Games, finished fifth in the women’s marathon with a timing of 3:12:01.

Another participant Bhandari failed to complete the course after 35-km as she suffered from dehydration. Bhandari was admitted to hospital as a precaution and was discharged later. Hari Rimal won the only medal from athletics finishing third in the men’s 5,000m on Feb 10.

Nepal set for Maldives tie

In the men’s football, Nepal are taking on Maldives for a place in the final. Nepal who had crushed Bhutan 5-0 before losing to Bangladesh 2-1 to finish Group ‘B’ runners-up, will be fresh from their recent 4-1 victory over Maldives during the Bangabandhu Gold Cup semi-finals in Bangladesh. Nepal coach Raju Kaji Shakya said he will take the match as the final.

“The Bangabandhu Gold Cup victory has instilled the much needed confidence in our team. It has also given us the hope that we can deliver at bigger arena. The first match against Bhutan went exceptionally well for us as we s cored five goals without conceding any. But the match against Bangladesh turned out to be something else. We went down despite putting in our best effort. This is football, anything can happen,” said Shakya.

Double defeat in handball

Both the men’s and women’s handball teams lost their respective league round matches on Friday. While the men’s team lost to Pakistan 50-15, India defeated them 47-20 in the women’s game. The women team, who had defeated Sri Lanka on Wednesday, will now depend on Saturday’s last league game between Sri Lanka and India to qualify for the semi-finals. If India win the game, Nepal will go through. The men’s team had opened their campaign with a 29-26 victory over Afghanistan.

First victory in kabaddi

Nepal tasted their first win in the women’s kabaddi with a 41-10 victory over Pakistan. The win came after they lost to Sri Lanka 21-13 in an early game. They had also lost to India 51-17 in their first match on Thursday. The men’s team, meanwhile, suffered their second consecutive loss, going down to hosts India 47-23. They had lost to Pakistan on Thursday and will now play Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Top two teams qualify for the final from round robin league.