Kathmandu, Nepal, June 20, 2021: Table tennis matches and a singing competition sparked off countrywide Olympic Day 2021 celebrations in Nepal on Saturday, June 19.
Held under the umbrella of the Nepal Olympic Committee, the opening ceremony got underway at the Olympic headquarters of the Nepal NOC in Satdobato, Kathmandu, under strict COVID-19 safety protocols.
A total of 231 programmes will be held across the country to mark Olympic Day 2021.
Nepal’s Minister of Youth and Sports Ekbal Miya, who was on hand to inaugurate Olympic Day 2021 by hoisting the national flag, provided a welcome boost to local sports when, in his opening address, he said the government was ready to assist in the development of sport “in all possible ways” and called for a collective effort from all stakeholders.
The President of Nepal NOC, Hon. Jeevan Ram Shrestha, said Olympic Day 2021 would serve to increase “brotherhood and peace” in Nepali sports and society as a whole.
The NOC President then hoisted the flag of the International Olympic Committee before taking on Sports Minister Miya in a friendly table tennis match.
Among the others taking part in the ceremony were the President of Sports for All Commission Nepal Bishnu Gopal Shrestha, former NOC President Dhruva Bahadur Pradhan, NOC Vice President and Executive Director Chaturanandaraj Vaidya, NOC Vice Presidents Ashok Ratna Bajracharya and Jyoti Rana and NOC General Secretary Nilendra Raj Shrestha.
The Nepal Olympic Committee has been celebrating Olympic Day since 2011.
