Maan Bahadur Shrestha was one of the most talked about names in Nepali volleyball in 2017-18 season. He capped a memorable year leading Tribhuvan Army Club (TAC) to three back-to-back titles and earned applauds in domestic and international matches.

The spiker was adjudged the best player of the National Sports Council Championships—a tournament that TAC won. The season concluded for him with yet another player of the tournament accolade when he led the Armymen to title triumph in the NVA Club Championship. He was also named the best spiker of the CoAS Cup Volleyball organised by Nepali Army.

Shrestha’s game was especially appreciated during international tours of Hong Kong and Macau where he has performances earned Nepal remarkable victories. The consistent performance with the national team has helped Shrestha gain huge media attention.

Starting his career with a school in Nawalparasi, Shrestha has made a long way to break into the departmental team and currently draws a huge number of fans. He has set up a good example of how dedication in volleyball can also earn him a good living. Shrestha is looking for his fans support to win the People’s Choice award under the Pulsar Sports Award.

In one of the most prestigious awards of the country for sports personalities, Shrestha is representing a discipline which is now the national sport. National team’s leg spin prodigy Sandeep Lamichhane, footballer Kiran Chemjong, table tennis player Santoo Shrestha and teen golfer Pratima Sherpa are other nominees in the category.

Unlike the previous editions, the winner of the People’s Choice Award will be determined through SMS voting, facebook likes, votes from national sports’ coaches and members of Nepal Sports Journalists Forum (NSJF). The SMS voting and facebook likes account for 50 percent of weightage, and votes from coaches and sports journalists will carry 50 percent weightage.

Four facebook likes are equivalent to one SMS voting. THT Live 37722 is the official voting partner. People’s Choice is one of the eight categories of the Sports Award that honours last season’s (Nepali calender) achievement as best player of the year male, female, youth, parathlete, best coach, special and lifetime achievements.