Nepal Sports Journalist Forum (NSJF), with the aim of promoting Nepali sports and athletes started the Sports award in 2052 BS.
Awards were distributed in two categories, has now extended to eight different award categories. After facing hurdles in the first few years, the award began to run smoothly with the change of guard in NSJF in 2060 BS, and has been expanding ever since. It is being held annually for the last six years.
In 2062 BS, Private organizations joined hands with the organizers to support and run it smoothly. Number of award categories increased from two to four after Multinational Company, LG joined them. Since then NSJF has never looked back. Hansraj Hulaschand, authorized dealer of Pulsar bikes for Nepal is sponsoring the award since last three years in a row.
The latest edition will also award Pulsar bikes to the winners of the male and female categories for the first time. The awards for this year will be given amidst a function scheduled to be held in Kathmandu on September 11.
Binod Das was the first cricketer to receive the award in 2062 BS. He was nominated for the Player of the Year (Male) category. Along with him, Kanishka Chaugain received Player of the Year (Youth) and Roy Luke Dias, the past Coach of Nepal’s Cricket was awarded as the Coach of the Year.
In 2064 BS, Nary Thapa was honored with Player of the Year (Female) award along with Paras Khadka who got Player of the Year (Youth) title. For special contribution in the development of Cricket, Jay Kumar Nath Shah was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Similarly, Mehboob Alam, left arm fast-medium bowler for Nepal, received a Special Award in 2065 BS.
Last year, Cricket again dominated the award after Paras Khadka received the Player of the Year (Male) award. Rubina Chhetri also got a Miracle Award.
This year, Rahul B.K. has been listed in Popular Player of the Year (Male) categories. In World Cricket League Division 4, he took 8 wickets, 4 wickets in 16th Asian Games and 21 in ACC U-19 Elite Cup 2011. During, ACC U-19 Elite Cup, he helped the team to achieve first runner up title and was the top wicket- taker in the tournament.
In Popular Player of the Year (Youth) categories, Nepal’s U19 Captain Prithu Baskota and Women’s Team Captain Nary Thapa are listed. Prithu was nominated for his excellent captaincy record. He took the team to the ACC U-19 Elite Cup Final, which opened the door for playing qualifiers for U-19 World Cup Cricket in 2012.
Jagat Tamata and Shyamasan Thapa are listed in the Best Coach of the Year Award.
Here is a list of the past winners of the award:
Winners of 2054 BS
Player of the Year (Male): Dev Narayan Chaudhary (Football)
Player of the Year (Female): Sangina Baidya (Taekwondo)
Coach of the Year: Partha Sarathi Sen Gupta (Weightlifting)
Lifetime Achievement: Jit Bahadur KC (Athletics)
Winners of 2060 BS
Player of the Year (Male): Rajendra Bhandari (Athletics)
Player of the Year (Female): Sangina Baidya (Taekwondo)
Winners of 2061 BS
Player of the Year (Male): Rajendra Bhandari (Athletics)
Player of the Year (Female): Pooja Shrestha/Sumina Shrestha (Badminton)
Player of the Year (Youth): Pradeep Maharjan (Football)
Winners of 2062 BS
Player of the Year (Male): Binod Das (Cricket)
Player of the Year (Female): Nirmala Bharati (Athletics)
Player of the Year (Youth): Kanishka Chaugain (Cricket)
Coach of the Year: Roy Luke Dias (Cricket)
Lifetime Achievement: Gajaraj Joshi (Athletics)
Winners of 2063 BS
Player of the Year (Male): Deepak Bista (Taekwondo)
Player of the Year (Female): Manita Shahi (Taekwondo)
Player of the Year (Youth): Ayasha Shakya (Taekwondo)
Coach of the Year: Kwan H Jung (Taekwondo)
Lifetime Achievement: Suresh Singh Ale Magar (Boxing)
Special Award: Hari Bahadur Rokaya (Athletics)
Winners of 2064 BS
Player of the Year (Male): Deepak Bista (Taekwondo)
Player of the Year (Female): Nery Thapa (Cricket)
Player of the Year (Youth): Paras Khadka (Cricket)
Coach of the Year: Birat Krishna Shrestha (Football)
Popular Player of the Year: Jumanu Rai (Football)
Lifetime Achievement: Jay Kumar Nath Shah (Cricket)
Special Award: Sahara Club, Pokhara (Football and social work)
Winners of 2065 BS
Player of the Year (Male): Jumanu Rai (Football)
Player of the Year (Female): Karishma Karki (Swimming)
Player of the Year (Youth): Keshari Chaudhary (Cricket/Athletics)
Coach of the Year: Sushil Narsingh Rana (Athletics)
Popular Player of the Year: Manju Gurung (Volleyball)
Lifetime Achievement: Partha Sarathi Sen Gupta (Weightlifting)
Special Award: Mehboob Alam (Cricket)
Winners of 2066 BS
Player of the Year (Male): Paras Khadka (Cricket)
Player of the Year (Female): Ganga Adhikari (Karate)
Player of the Year (Youth): Binita Maharjan (Wushu)
Coach of the Year: Birat Krishna Shrestha (Football)
Popular Player of the Year: Santosh Sahukhala (Football)
Lifetime Achievement: Komal Pandey (Football/Cricket/Athletics)
Special Award: Deepak Bista (Taekwondo)
Para-athlete Award: Arjun Sapkota (Table Tennis)
Miracle Award: Rubina Chhetri (Cricket)
Bravery Award: Debu Thapa (Judo)
