Kathmandu, Nepal, September 7, 2021: The President of the Nepal Olympic Committee, Hon. Jeevan Ram Shrestha, has unveiled a bust statue of Gajraj Joshi, the first sprinter to represent the country internationally.
President Shrestha thanked Chitiz Arun Shrestha, President of Nepal Olympic Museum - where the metal statue will be kept - for taking the initiative to honour one of the most famous athletes from Nepal, and stressed the need for the country to remember its sporting past.
Nepal NOC Secretary General Nilendra Raj Shrestha and the Mayor of Tokha Municipality, Prakash Adhikari, spoke about Joshi’s contribution to Nepal sports.
Also present at the ceremony was NOC Vice President and Executive Director, Chaturanataraj Baidya, Vice President Ms. Jyoti Rana, executive members Ram Awale and Ramesh Shiwakoti, and other top office bearers. Family members of Joshi were among the invitees at the ceremony.
Sprinter Joshi, one of the first generation of athletes to represent Nepal, was a member of the squad that competed at the first Asian Games in New Delhi in 1951.
As a young man, he enlisted in the Indian British Army and served in World War II. After the war, he returned home to Nepal and joined the Nepal Army. Apart from athletics, he was also a keen footballer.
The Nepal Sports Journalists Forum has previously bestowed on Joshi a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Joshi passed away on March 3, 2008.