Karateka Anu Adhikari and weightlifter Kamal Bahadur Adhikari clinched the player of the year awards as former weightlifting coach Partha Sarathi Sen Gupta was honoured with Gajaraj Ideal Sports Personality under NNIPA Sports Award on Friday.

Nepal National and International Players Association (NNIPA) on Friday honoured athletes in 29 different sports disciplines who had given their best performance in the last Nepali calendar year. Anu and Kamal were chosen as the best among those athletes and got Rs 100,000 each. The other winners got Rs 10,000 apiece.

Anu, a national champion, had claimed gold medals in the Australian Open Karate Championships, Berlin Open International Karate Championships and Thailand Open Karate Do Championships. Kamal, who has been a dominant figure in Nepali men’s weightlifting, won three bronze medals each in the Asian Inter-club Weightlifting Championship and Asian Cup Weightlifting Championships. Both the events were held in Korea. He also claimed two bronze in the third Fazer Cup in Iran.

Ramesh Bhattachan (archery), Bishwo Rupa Budha (athletics), Nangsal Devi Tamang (badminton), Manesh Raj Rajopadhayaya (basketball), Bimala Shrestha (boxing), Narayan Gopal Maharjan (cycling), Junga Giri (fencing), Sabitra Bhandari (football), Tanka Bahadur Karki (golf) and Bandana Rai (handball) were other winners from their respective sports disciplines.

Cyclist Maharjan was given the award posthumously after he died in a terrible accident while competing in a tournament in Sri Lanka last year. His mother received the award. Manoj Chaudhary (hockey), Manita Shrestha Pradhan (judo), Nageshwor Tharu (kabaddi), Santosh Bohora (kho kho), Pranav Khanal (tennis), Sunita Tamang (National Taekwondo), Rupesh Sunuwar (Sepak Takraw), Sushmita Nepal (shooting) and Yukesh Yonjan (soft tennis) also claimed awards in their respective sports disciplines.

Other winners included Bhawana Sunuwar (squash), Gaurika Singh (swimming), Syantoo Shrestha (table tennis), Asmita Khadka (taekwondo), Basanta Tharu (triathlon), Im Rana Magar (volleyball), Maya Lohar (wrestling) and Amar Sunar (wushu).

Gupta, who is currently the general secretary of the Nepal Weightlifting Association, is credited in helping Nepal win multiple medals at the international arena. Weightlifting is the only discipline with maximum number of medals in the South Asian Games. He was rewarded for his overall contribution in the development of the game. His award carried a purse of Rs 25,000.

Journalist Niranjan Rajbanshi was honoured with the NNIPA sports journalism award for his over two-decade long service in the field. Rajbanshi, who current works with BBC Nepali Sewa, also got a purse of Rs 25,000. The former president of Nepal Sports Journalists Forum, Rajbanshi, is also the treasurer with AIPS Asia.