A Report on

Results of Shooting in 13th South Asian Games

held in Kathmandu, Nepal

from 1-10 December, 2019

Submitted to

Nepal Olympic Committee

Satdobato, Lalitpur

Submitted by

Hwang in Kwan

January, 2020
13th South Asian Games 2019, Nepal

The 2019 South Asian Games, officially the 13th South Asian Games, was a major multi-sport event which
was held from 1 to 10 December 2019 in Kathmandu, Pokhara and Janakpur, Nepal. The Dasarath Stadium
hosted the opening and closing ceremonies along with men's football events, with the stadium's
renovation after the 2015 earthquake completed in under 10 months with an increased capacity of
20,000, along with the closing ceremony on 10th December.

Seven countries of South Asia, viz, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the host
nation Nepal competed in the mega sporting event. A total of 2,715 athletes were scheduled to compete.

These Games featured 26 sports with cricket returning after 8 years. Golf and karate were the two sports
added by the hosts as their choice.

The 10 Days long (December 1-10) South Asian Games have come to an end. The 13th edition of the South
Asian Games remained historic for Nepal achieving the second highest number of gold medals after India.
Nepal had targeted 50 gold but, after the football finals the tally increased more than the expectation.
Nepal has a total of 51 gold, 60 silver and 95 bronze.

In the 13th edition of SAG, India has won the highest, 310, number of medals including 174 gold, 93 silver
and 45 Bronze.

Amongst all games held in the 13th South Asian Games, Nepal remained medal less in the Shooting events.
Based in the preparation, events and results, I would like to submit the following report with my analytical
opinions.

Shooting Sports
Shooting sports is a collective group of competitive and recreational sporting activities involving
proficiency tests of accuracy, precision and speed in shooting — the art of using various types of ranged
weapons, mainly referring to human-portable guns (firearms and air guns, in forms such as handguns,
rifles and shotguns and bows/crossbows.

Different disciplines of shooting sports can be categorized by equipment, shooting distances, targets, time
limits and degrees of athleticism involved. Shooting sports may involve both team and individual
competition, and team performance is usually assessed by summing the scores of the individual team
members. Due to the noise of shooting and the high (and often lethal) impact energy of the projectiles,
shooting sports are typically conducted at either designated permanent shooting ranges or temporary
shooting fields in the area away from settlements.
From My Own
First of all, I would like to thank Mr. Jeevan Ram Shrestha, President of Nepal Olympic Committee, Nepal
Shooting Association and my dear friend Mr. Raju Darshan for inviting me in Nepal as a Shooting Coach
once again to train shooting athletes as preparation for 13th South Asian Games held in Nepal 1 to 10
December 2019. My gratitude also goes to Mr. Puspa Das Shrestha, President of Nepal Shooting
Association for his kindness in appointing me as a Shooting Coach for Nepal Shooting Team.

I found the Shooting Range built in the Satdobato Sports Complex is as per the Olympic Standards as its
10 meter and 25 meter shooting ranges have a very good infrastructure along with well-equipped
Electronic Target with Digital Display System installed and other necessary facilities for the players and
officials.

Till date, I have been to five different nations as shooting coach, I found the best Shooting Range in Nepal
amongst them. I congratulate the Olympic Committee and Nepal Shooting Association for having built
such a wonderful Range.

With a warm welcome from Mr. Jeevan Ram Shrestha, President of Nepal Olympic Committee and
President of Nepal Shooting Association, I arrived in Nepal on 9th of November 2019. I received the
appointment for coaching the Nepal Shooting team on 11th of November. With all my efforts and sincerity,
I got involved in preparing the Nepali Shooters for the 13th SAG for best possible results.

I congratulate the 13th South Asian Games host nation Nepal and its players for achieving the most number
of medals in its South Asian Games history. The event held from 1-10 December was a great success for
Nepal. During my training for about 15 days, I found magnificent improvement in Nepalese shooters.
Although the individual results produced by Nepalese shooters was satisfactory, Nepal remained without
medal in Shooting games, which is the most disappointing moment for all of us, thought we had a caliber
of achieving success. As a coach, I would like to apologize for the result. And I would also like to assure all
the stakeholders of the shooting games of Nepal that, I will give my best in training Nepalese shooting
athletes for the best results in the near future, if I remain as a coach.
Preparation and Selection
As per my knowledge, the selection of players of shooting for the 13th SAG was based upon the
performances and the ranks with all the necessary criteria been fulfilled by the Nepalese officials. There
is no doubt that the selection procedure was a fair some work with all honesty and sportsmanship.

To remind you, I came Nepal to prepare the shooting athletes for the 17th Incheon Asian Games in 2014.
At that time Nepal had the shooting range for 10 meter only. This time we have a very sophisticated
shooting ranges even for 25 and 50 meters of Olympic Standard with Electronic Target with Digital Display
System. Which, I believe, is the most commendable achievement of the Nepal Shooting Association.

In this report, I would like to focus my opinion on 10 meter shooting range.

10 meter Air Rifle Male 1. Arnav Ghimire

2. Hari Bahadur Thapa

3. Kumr Karki

10 meter Air Rifle Female 1. Susmita Nepal

2. Kalpana Pariyar

3. Mira Banjara

10 meter Air Pistol Male 1. Bipesh Khadka

2. Sukdev Chaudhary

3. Badruddin Ansari

10 meter Air Pistol Female 1. Shreya K.C.

2. Krishna Thapa

3. Sarita Basnet

As of above notes, It is identified that during the selection procedure, only 3 (three) shooters were
selected as of their present performance. I recommend that, the Final Selected shooters should at least
be 4 (four) and the selection tests of the players should be held at least for 3 (three) times. And the
selection should be done as per their consistency in results.

Since the shooting game is highly a mind game, players should possess a high precision and concentration
during the game. For this, the shooters should stay fit and fine physically and mentally all the time. It is
possible only when one has a good diet, good sleep and relaxation activities for fresh mind and body under
controlled environmental exercises.
So, it is a must that, there should be a multiple tests for the final selection of final shooters for the best
results. Also, If we have 4 (four) players for the event, we can have 1 (one) player as a back-up. This would
be most useful for Team Event, as if any of the players from final 3 (three) happens to have any problem,
the back-up player can fulfill the player bench, which will be helpful in getting a good result.

Amongst the selected 4 (four) also, they would be battling with in themselves to fit in the final 3 (three),
which would lead them stay fit and encourage them to enhance their personal performance. This will
result, ultimately, the best at the end of the day.

The 13th SAG Review

In the 10 meter Air Rifle Female Event, Nepal missed to clinch the Bronze Medal only with the difference
of 6 points. In this event Miss Mira Banjara of Nepal had scored 592, Miss Susmita Nepal had scored 611.7
and Miss Kalpana Pariyar had scored 614.5, which is only a difference of 6 points from the 3rd position
holder from Pakistan. In this event, India clinched Gold, Bangladesh won the Silver and Pakistan won the
Bronze medal.

In this event, personally Mira Banjara had a very poor score (592) as compared to her past records (613
during training). This was due to her miss concentration in game as she had given birth to a child recently.
It is possible that, she could not give her best performance due to her physical condition after delivery
and could not focus on the target with diverted mind towards the game and her child. Hence, we should
be very aware of above points while make the final selection of the shooters, which would definitely affect
the results of the events.

Difference and Achievement in Score

Comparative scores of Nepalese shooters in before and in the 13th SAG is as follows:

Name of Player Event Before After Training SAG Score SAG

Training Record
Kalpana Pariyar 10 m. Rifle 613.9 623.9 614.5 636 (India)
Susmita Nepal 10 m. Rifle 605.1 620.4 611.7
Mira Banjara 10 m. Rifle 610 613 592

After the review of the above score sheet, it is found that the players' performance has been increased.
Kalpana has scored 614.5 in the 13th SAG event which is higher than before training. Similarly, Susmita has
also improved her results after the training. Viewing the results of Kalpana, her performance is better than
that of the score she had in World Championship Shooting Competition held in Doha, Qatar, which was
613.9. Her new score also sets the new National Record with the firing of 60 bullets in 1 hour 15 minutes
time. Previously, female contestants had to fire 40 bullets in 1 hour 15 minutes.
With above records, it can be said that, the results of the Nepalese shooters is better than the previous
records. In the past, Sneha Rana had set the record of 97.3 (389/400) with 40 bullets in 1 hour 15 fifteen
minutes. Similarly, Susmita Nepal's previous highest score in Doha was 605.1, where as she has a new
score of 611.7 in the 13th SAG. Which also indicates the improvement after the training.

Kalpana Pariyar and Susmita Nepal have already been qualified for the Tokyo Olympic Games 2020 after
their performances in the World Championship Shooting Competition held in Doha, Qatar.

Apart from the above results, the performances of Shreya KC in Female 10 m Pistol and Bipesh Khadka in
Male 10 m Pistol were also very commendable. Shreya would have stood 3 rd if she had not faced the
problem with her gun. Bipesh Khadka had entered the final with Top 6 Rank with the 385/400 score.

Another veteran player Badrudding Ansari could not play well in the event due to his poor health
condition.

Finally, it is observed that, Mr. Chaudhary is also a player with high caliber in Men's Air Rifle. If we can
train our players with appropriate dress, gun, bullet and regular training, there is no doubt that, we can
produce a highly skilled shooters and get more effective results in the coming events with a higher number
of medals.

Similarly, Bipesh Khadka scored 560/600 and achieved the top 8th position and reached in the Final
amongst 26 players from 20 countries in the recent performance at the H. H. The Amir of Kuwait Ninth
International Shooting Grand Prix 2020. The event was held at Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Olympic Shooting
Complex from 10th to 18th January 2020. Later, he achieved prestigious 6th position in the Final played
amongst top 8 athletes in which UAE, Pakistan and Serbia won the Gold, Silver and Bronze medal
consecutively.

Problems and Recommendations

Shooting is the game where players should always be fit and fine physically and mentally. They should
always focus on practice and building higher score. Shooters should regularly possess exercises, yoga and
mental training. Balanced diet on time, timely and proper sleeping is also the must. Personal analysis of
own game is another vital activity a player should perform. Since, most of the players are unaware of their
personal activity, it is very important to train them for psychological fitness too.

Apart from the above, every player should be equipped with shooting dress, shoes, gloves, ear muffler,
shooter glass, inner wear and armed with proper shooting armor and pallets as well. A good player can
only perform and give a good result only with the best supporting tools and environment.

It is also important to have a personal Air Rifle and Pistol with every individual player. Because, every
shooter have their own Aiming and sighting and Trigger is also set as per his own requirement. If multiple
of shooters use the same one gun, then sighting has to be changed every time. Which would cause a
problem in setting every time, and this will also result in score.
During the competition, if the score keeps falling from 10 to 9 or 8, shooters should understand how to
manage the setting or grouping with clicks. It is important to make a proper movement too. Some times,
shooters keep firing randomly without setting or clicking when they see the score falling, which is, of
course, the worst psychology of a player. One should relax and wait for the coach for the proper direction
for the better and improved result.

Conclusion
After going through all the evidences and reality of our current situation of the shooting games, I would
like to wish all the stakeholders that, it is not yet too late. We can still have more activities done in the
course of getting better results. If we work together, it is very much possible to achieve better positions
in the come events. We should conduct more training, organize more domestic events, participate in more
number of international events and organize and participate in relevant seminars too.

If could manage continuous sufficient training to the selected players with appropriate dress, gun and
other necessary equipment, it is very possible to win quite a number of medals in the coming events.

It is more likely to held seminars and workshops on imparting knowledge about ISSF Rules and
Regulations. Similarly, we should also be able to give proper knowledge on new and latest technological
development time and again.

My Sincere Thanks
I would once again like thank the Nepal Olympic Committee, Nepal Shooting Association and Mr. Raju
Darshan for arranging the best accommodation during my stay in Nepal. I would also like to assure all of
you to produce better results in the coming events, if I am given an opportunity to come back to Nepal as
a Shooting Coach.

Thank You ! and wishing all the concerned people of Nepalese shooting for successful days ahead.

Hwan in Kwan

Shooting Coach