Prince and Rashila Secure Double Titles as Army Team Clinches Championship

Prince Dahal from APF and Rashila Maharjan of Nepal Army won the singles titles at the 42nd National Badminton Championships. The Army team claimed the team championship by winning three gold medals, while APF secured two golds. The competition featured 115 players across 10 teams, including squads from all seven provinces and three departmental teams. The event took place on May 16 in Kathmandu.

Prince Dahal emerged as the national champion in men’s singles after defeating Army’s Bidhyan Adhikari in straight sets, 21–16, 21–3, at the final held in the Covered Hall of the National Sports Council (RAN), Tripureshwor. This marks Prince’s second consecutive national title, having first won the trophy in 2022.

In the women’s singles category, Rashila Maharjan secured her third national championship by beating three-time champion Nangshal Tamang in straight sets, 21–18, 21–18. Rashila had previously won the title in 2019 and 2022. Fellow Army players Amita Giri and Rihana Sherchan finished in third place. Both singles champions, Prince and Rashila, also captured gold medals in doubles competitions.

The tournament, organized by the Nepal Badminton Association, saw Rashila and Amita from the Army team win the women’s doubles title. They defeated the Koshi Province pair of Roji Rai and Nisam Subba 21–17, 21–17. In men’s doubles, APF’s Prince Dahal and Dewaraj Rana beat their team-mates Bhojbahadur Gurung and Kshitij Khanal 21–10, 21–18 in the final. The mixed doubles title went to Bidhyan Adhikari and Amita Giri of the Army team.

With three gold medals, the Army team was crowned the overall team champion, receiving the team trophy along with a cash prize of NPR 100,000. Since the final match of the mixed doubles was set to be contested by Army players, the team champion was determined before this last event. Winners were awarded in a ceremony presided over by Nepal Olympic Committee President Jeevan Ram Shrestha, Vice President Chatur Narayan Rajbhandari, Secretary-General Rajiv Shrestha, member Lakpa Chiring Lama, and Ramjibahadur Shrestha, the chair of the organizing association.