Nepal Boxing Team Departs for India to Prepare for 20th Asian Games
The Nepalese boxing team is set to leave for Guwahati, Assam, India, on Monday to prepare for the 20th Asian Games. The competition will be held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, where seven athletes—four men and three women—will represent Nepal. According to Pushkarraj Pant, Secretary of the Nepal Boxing Association, the athletes will undergo a specialized training program for 40 days under the Sports Authority of India.
The Nepal boxing team will conduct its preparation training for the 20th Asian Games in Guwahati, Assam. A nine-member Nepali contingent, including seven players, departs for India on Monday. The Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, starting from Ashoj 3 (September 19), will see Nepal challenged by four male and three female boxers. The male competitors include Chandrabahadur Thapa in the under 55 kg category, Khagendra Roka Magar under 60 kg, Danbahadur Darlami under 70 kg, and Rabin Nepal under 90 kg. The female participants are Ramisha Shrestha (under 51 kg), Asmita Tamang (under 54 kg), and Kusum Tamang (under 65 kg).
The athletes will train for 40 days at the National Centre of Excellence under the Sports Authority of India (SAI), as shared by Pushkarraj Pant. Following their training in Guwahati, the team will travel directly to Japan. Except for Rabin Nepal, this will be the first Asian Games appearance for all boxers. Rabin previously competed in the 19th Asian Games. Chandrabahadur Thapa is a historic bronze medalist at the 2025 AIBA World Men’s Boxing Championships held in Dubai, marking Nepal boxing’s greatest achievement to date.
The coaching staff includes Raj Shrestha and Deepak Maharjan, with Manbahadur Bhandari, Secretary General of the Nepal Boxing Association, acting as the team manager. Bhandari will join the team in India later. Historically, Nepal boxing has secured six bronze medals across three editions of the Asian Games. The first medals were won during the 10th edition in Seoul, South Korea, in 1986, when Dalbahadur Rana Magar, Tulbahadur Thapa, Sushil Pokharel, and Manojbahadur Shrestha earned bronze. In later editions, boxing continued to secure medals, notably through Chitrabahadur Gurung at the 11th Asian Games in Beijing, 1990, and Deepak Maharjan, now a coach, who earned a bronze at the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, in 2010. Since the 17th edition in Incheon, South Korea, Nepal boxing has not won any medals.
On Friday, the team was seen off at a farewell event attended by Ramcharitra Mehta, Member-Secretary of the National Sports Council, and Ram Awale, President of the Nepal Boxing Association.