National Sports Council Clarifies Expenses for Karate Player Erika Gurung and Coach Kushal Shrestha

Kathmandu. The National Sports Council (NSC) has made public details of expenditures exceeding 4.8 million rupees for the international participation of karate player Erika Gurung and her coach Kushal Shrestha. The NSC issued a statement on Tuesday, expressing serious concern over coach Shrestha's allegations in the media that the council did not provide support during their participation in the Karate 1 Premier League held in Leshan, China.

The attention-grabbing letter issued by Bhojananda Rai, Head of the Administration Department of the NSC, mentioned that the council has paid adequate attention to the training and skill enhancement of Erika Gurung. According to the NSC, an amount of 2,686,543 rupees has already been paid for the air tickets, food, accommodation, and miscellaneous expenses of player Erika and coach Kushal Shrestha in the current fiscal year alone. The NSC stated that a total of 4,869,052 rupees has been paid from the fiscal year 2080/81 until now.

The council acknowledged that although it has been providing regular special training to the players under 'Mission 2026' despite limited resources, the training has been affected for the past two months due to a budget shortage.

The council expressed regret for not being able to provide immediate financial assistance due to a budget shortage for their participation in the competition in China. The council also thanked various organizations that helped Erika participate in that competition.

The NSC expressed happiness that player Gurung won a silver medal for Nepal in the Karate 1 Premier League and claimed that it has always been providing support to give her international exposure and awards.

Under these circumstances, the NSC asserts that the allegation made by Kushal Shrestha, who is also an assistant coach of the council, that there was no support, is not factual. The council has also made public the details of the expenses incurred for their international participation over the past three years.