A hundred days on, Nepal’s sports minister has little to show

Nepal's Minister of Education and Sports, Sasmit Pokharel, has presented a public account of his ministry's work over the first hundred days, but the report has drawn criticism for its perceived lack of substantial achievements. Critics argue that the minister has inflated the ministry's accomplishments by including routine events and activities that predate his tenure or would have occurred regardless of his involvement.

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Aside from deciding which teams to send to the Asian Games, he sees no solid work done by the sports minister in these hundred days.

Among the listed "achievements" are the CAVA Women's National League and the annual President's Running Shield, events that are organized independently. The report also counts coach training, athlete treatment recommendations, and the resumption of a special training program as successes. However, former officials and sports administrators contend that these do not represent new initiatives or significant progress under Pokharel's leadership. Kamal Bhattarai, a former executive member of the National Sports Council (NSC), stated that no solid work has been done beyond deciding which teams to send to the Asian Games.

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Programs like the President’s Cup and CAVA volleyball listed among the minister’s achievements are simply regular annual events that predate this government, and that no new policy on how to advance sports is visible.

Further concerns have been raised regarding the integration of sports with education, a stated policy commitment that has seen no concrete action. Additionally, the budget allocated for the 10th National Games has been deemed insufficient, with a significant reduction compared to previous allocations. Yubaraj Lama, former NSC member-secretary, echoed the sentiment that little has been accomplished beyond infrastructure development, highlighting a lack of progress in amending the Sports Act or introducing new action plans. There are also allegations of biased budget distribution, favoring private clubs over authentic sports bodies.

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No work has happened beyond infrastructure development. He argued there’s no concrete movement toward amending the Sports Act or introducing a new action plan, and suggested that because the minister oversees both education and sports, his attention appears tilted more toward education.