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Kathmandu – Kathmandu Gorkhas have appointed five of Nepal’s leading athletes as their Goodwill Ambassadors ahead of the upcoming second edition of the Nepal Premier League (NPL) cricket tournament.

The franchise announced that the initiative aims to inspire youth by involving celebrated players from various sports beyond cricket.

The newly appointed ambassadors are

• Mandekaji Shrestha (Karate)

• Bikesh Kuthu (Football)

• Santoshī Shrestha (Athletics)

• Poonam Chand (Volleyball)

• Sita Tamang (Taekwondo)

The ambassadors were formally welcomed by the team’s Executive Director Anubhav Swar Sirohiya and Chief Executive Officer Suraj Singh Thakuri.

CEO Thakuri said the Gorkhas wanted to promote multi-sport culture in Nepal by bringing athletes from different disciplines into their fold. He added that, being a Kathmandu-based team, the selections also reflected the Valley’s sporting talent.

The second edition of the Nepal Premier League is scheduled from November 17 to December 13. The Gorkhas will be led by national team pacer Karan KC, with a squad that includes Bhim Sharki, Shahab Alam, Adil Ansari, Rashid Khan, Dipesh Kandel, Santosh Yadav, Akash Tripathi, Pratik Shrestha, Tul Bahadur Thapa, and Uttam Thapa Magar.

Among the ambassadors, Mandekaji Shrestha is a double gold medalist from the 2019 South Asian Games held in Nepal and currently serves as the Kata coach of the national karate team. Bikesh Kuthu, the national football goalkeeper since 2012, has played for Saraswati, Jawalakhel Youth, and Madhyapur Youth Association and won the first Nepal Super League title with Kathmandu Rayzrs.

Santoshī Shrestha made history by becoming Nepal’s first female athlete to win gold in athletics at the South Asian Games, clinching the 10,000m title in 2019. She also represented Nepal at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Poonam Chand, a key member of the national volleyball team since 2019, currently plays for Pokhara Ninjas in the Everest Women’s Volleyball League, set to begin in Pokhara later this month.

Sita Tamang, fresh off a gold medal at the Embassy Open Taekwondo Championship in South Korea, is a multiple-time National Games gold medalist. She has also appeared in Nepali films, including Out Law and Danbhi.