Khadka wins top honours

Nepal national captain Paras Khadka won the Male Sportsperson of the Year Award at the annual awards night of the Nepal Sports Journalists Forum.

Khadka won the award for guiding Nepal to the ICC World Cricket League Division 5 title win. Khadka also scored 250 runs and picked up a wicket in the tournament.

Khadka also led the team to the final of the ACC Trophy in Kuwait after eight years. "We could not have achieved success without the support of my team. The credit for this award goes to my team, family, coach and friends," Khadka was quoted as saying by Republica.

The other cricket winner was Nepal's women's team member Rubina Chhetri. Chhetri won the Magical Performance of the Year Award for her performance against Singapore in Malaysia during the ACC Women´s Trophy.

In the game Chhetri became the first Nepali cricketer to complete a hat-trick at the international level and claimed five wickets in one over. Singapore, needing only two runs for victory with five wickets in hand, could manage only one run as Chhetri took five wickets in the over to tie the match. Nepal won the match in the bowl out.

Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) curator Komal Pandey was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement award.