KATHMANDU: Nepali athletes are set to compete in the shooting and swimming events at the Paris Olympics 2024 today (Sunday). In shooting, Sushmita Nepal will participate in the 10m air rifle event at 9:30 am French time. Meanwhile, Duwana Lama will compete in the heat stage of the 200m freestyle swimming at 12:05 PM French time.
Previously, on Saturday night, Nepali players faced challenges as Santu Shrestha in table tennis and Prince Dahal in badminton were defeated in straight sets. Despite these setbacks, Nepal's contingent of 7 athletes, comprising 3 males and 4 females, continues to strive for success in this 33rd edition of the Olympics.
Alexander Shah is set to compete in the men’s 100m freestyle, while Duwana Lama will also swim in the 200m freestyle. Sushmita Nepal will challenge competitors in the 10m air rifle event, and Manita Shrestha Pradhan will represent Nepal in judo under the 57 kg category. Santoshi Shrestha will compete in the marathon (42.195 km), arriving in Paris on July 30, with her event scheduled for August 31.
This marks the debut Olympics for all seven Nepali athletes. Notably, Nepal is participating in table tennis and badminton for the first time since the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. Santu Shrestha qualified for the Paris Olympics by finishing first in the South Asian Olympic Qualifying Tournament held in Nepal, making him the third Nepali athlete to achieve this feat in the Summer Olympics, following Sangina Baidya in the 2004 Athens Olympics and Deepak Bista in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
