Asian Games 2026: Nepal finished 36th with two bronze medals. What went wrong?

Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya finished and Nepal ended 36th on the medal table with 2 bronze, no gold or silver.

Medals: - Tenzing Sherpa, karate men's over-84kg kumite (bronze) - Women's kabaddi team (bronze, same as Hangzhou 2023)

Nepal sent 135 athletes in 21 sports. "Mission 2026" target was double-digit medals with at least one gold. Some positives: 3 national records (Mukesh Bahadur Pal in 5,000m, Som Bahadur Kuma in 800m, Avil Shrestha in 50m butterfly), Subash Tamang became the first Nepali golfer to play all four rounds, and the cricket team topped its group but the quarter-final was washed out without a ball bowled.

Sports minister Sasmit Pokhrel said results need long-term grassroots investment. Officials blamed budget shortage and election delays for disrupting the training camp.

What do you think should change before Doha 2030? School sports, more domestic leagues, or something else?

Sources: https://risingnepaldaily.com/news/87403 and https://risingnepaldaily.com/news/87743

For context, before these Games Nepal's all-time Asiad total was 3 silver and 25 bronze. First ever medal was Bidhan Lama's taekwondo bronze in Seoul 1986, first silver was Sabita Rajbhandari (taekwondo, 1998), then paragliding silver in 2018 and Arika Gurung's karate silver in Hangzhou 2023. Still no gold.

Source: The Rising Nepal editorial "Lessons From Asiad", 13 October 2026.