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Kathmandu: Commercial paragliding flights have commenced in Chandragiri, Kathmandu. Babu Adventures, the company founded by Nepal’s first high-altitude paragliding instructor and pilot, Sanobabu Sunuwar, has launched paragliding services.

Sunuwar, who has the remarkable achievements of scaling Mount Everest and paragliding from its summit to sea level, is also the recipient of the ‘Adventurer of the Year-2012’ award from National Geographic.

Paragliding flights take off from Chandragiri Hill, situated 20 minutes west of Bhaleshwar Temple. The flight starts at Chandragiri, which is 2,300 meters above sea level, and ascends up to a hundred meters in the sky before landing in Chitlang at 1,700 meters above sea level.

During the paragliding experience, participants can enjoy breathtaking aerial views of Bhaleshwar Temple and most parts of the Kathmandu Valley. The flight also offers panoramic views of regions such as Rasuwa and Dhading, as well as an enchanting perspective of Makwanpur’s Tistung, Palung, and the man-made Indrasarovar Lake.

The flight route predominantly traverses lush forests, enhancing the experience. According to government regulations, the company is permitted to fly up to 12 paragliders simultaneously, serving up to 100 people daily.

Sunuwar, who runs a paragliding school in Swarek Maidan, Syangja, believes that adventure air tourism has vast potential across Nepal and they've invested in Chandragiri to provide Kathmandu residents with a taste of flying in their city.

He said, “We’re on a mission to promote paragliding throughout Nepal. Given the high population density in Kathmandu, we hope to quickly and effectively spread its appeal.” The company is also prepared for ‘cross-country’ paragliding. They have invested around Rs 15m in establishing paragliding operations in Chandragiri, with plans for further investment.

Regarding the fee, the company charges Rs 8,000 per person for paragliding at Chandragiri, which includes a 15 to 25-minute paragliding flight, photographs, videos, and transportation from Kathmandu to the paragliding site. Photo and video equipment are provided by the company. Foreign nationals are charged Rs 12,000 per person for the same package. Nepali tourists who don’t require transportation by the company can enjoy paragliding at a rate of Rs 7,200.

To make a booking for paragliding in Chandragiri, interested individuals should contact Babu Adventures at least one day in advance. Bookings can be made through the company’s website.

Kathmandu: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has congratulated the winning players of the ACC U19 Premium Cup. 

Extending gratitude to the cricketers for their scintillating performance, PM Dahal in a social media post said the Nepali cricket team has made a history in winning the special title. 

Nepali cricket team defeated the UAE team in a final match of the ACC premier cup held in Kuala Lumpur of Malaysia today. They won the match by 19 runs through the Duckworth-Lewis Method.

Nepal chose to bat first after winning the toss and managed to score 280 runs in the 50 overs, at the loss of eight wickets. In response, the UAE team had gathered 50 runs in 11 overs before the rain temporarily interrupted the match.

After the rain-triggered delay, the UAE was given a revised target of 198 runs to chase in 27 overs using the Duckworth-Lewis Method. However, they were all out in 26.5 overs with a total of 178 runs.

Dev Khanal was the standout performer for Nepal, scoring a century off 92 balls, with nine fours and three sixes. Uttam Thapa contributed 57 runs to the team's total, while Arjun Kumar added 55. Arjun and Dev shared an excellent partnership of 125 runs for the third wicket.

Deepak Dumre scored 28 runs, followed by 10 runs from Dipesh Kandel, five from Deepak Bohora, seven from Hemanta Dhami, and three from Bishal Bikram KC.

For the UAE, Harit Shetty was the most successful bowler, taking five wickets, and the team's captain, Ayan Khan, took two wickets.

The UAE's batting performance showed a promising start but ultimately fell short of securing victory. Dhruv Parashar was the highest scorer for the team with 59 runs, while captain Khan contributed 30 runs and Aryansh Sharma scored 32 runs.

Nepal's Akash Tripathi took four wickets, Subash Bhandari three, Akash Chand  two, and Hemanta Dhami dismissed one batsman.

Manchester: Bobby Charlton, an English soccer icon who survived a plane crash that decimated a Manchester United team destined for greatness to become the heartbeat of his country’s 1966 World Cup-winning team, has died. He was 86.

A statement from Charlton's family, released by United, said he died Saturday surrounded by his family.

An extravagantly gifted midfielder with a ferocious shot, Charlton was the leading scorer for both United (249 goals) and England (49 goals) for more than 40 years until being overtaken by Wayne Rooney.

“Sir Bobby was a hero to millions, not just in Manchester, or the United Kingdom, but wherever football is played around the world,” United said.

“He was admired as much for his sportsmanship and integrity as he was for his outstanding qualities as a footballer; Sir Bobby will always be remembered as a giant of the game.”

Alex Ferguson, who managed United from 1986-2013, said before Charlton's death that he “is the greatest Manchester United player of all time—and that’s saying something.”

“Bobby Charlton is absolutely without peer in the history of the English game,” Ferguson said.

Charlton was also renowned for his humility, discipline and sportsmanship. He was never sent off in 758 appearances for United from 1956-73 or 106 internationals for England from 1958-70.

Charlton played with George Best and Denis Law in the so-called “Trinity” that led United to the 1968 European Cup after surviving the 1958 Munich crash that wiped out the celebrated “Busby Babes” team. He won three English league titles at United, and one FA Cup.

“For a footballer, he offered an unparalleled combination of grace, power and precision,” said former United defender Bill Foulkes, another survivor of the Munich air crash.

“It added up to a greatness and something more—something I can only call beauty.”

Charlton’s England scoring record stood for 45 years until Rooney scored his 50th goal for the national team in September 2015. Three of his England goals came in the World Cup in 1966, during which Charlton played every minute for the team and stood out especially in the semifinals when he scored twice against Portugal to lead England to a first major final.

England beat West Germany 4-2 after extra time in the final.

Although Ryan Giggs beat Charlton’s appearance record for United in 2008, his scoring record for the club lasted another nine years. It was only in 2017—44 years after Charlton last wore the famous red jersey of England’s most successful club — that Rooney scored his 250th goal for United.

After retiring in 1973, Charlton went into coaching and founded a youth scheme that included David Beckham, a future United and England great, among its participants.

After brief spells in charge of Preston, Wigan and Irish side Waterford, Charlton returned to United in 1984 as a director and persuaded the board in 1986 to appoint Ferguson, who delivered 38 trophies during nearly 27 years in charge.

Knighted in 1994 by Queen Elizabeth II, Charlton remains a mainstay at Old Trafford, featuring alongside Best and Law on a statue outside United’s stadium.

Charlton avoided the controversies and distractions that damaged the career of Best, with his style and demeanor bringing a popularity that transcended the tribalism of club and international football.

“I felt he could be a bit aloof,” the late Best said in a 2001 magazine interview. “We were never at each other’s throats, we simply didn’t go and have a pint together.”

Robert Charlton was born 11 Oct 1937, in the coal-mining town of Ashington, northeast England, and his talent was obvious from a young age.

“We realized Bobby was going to be a bit special as a player when he was about five years old,” said older brother Jack, who played for Leeds and won the World Cup alongside him. “He was always kicking a football or a tennis ball against a wall and when it bounced back it stuck to him like a magnet.”

Charlton wrote in 2007 that his family sometimes relied on illegally caught salmon or rabbit to ward off hunger, while his father—also named Robert—gathered coal washed up on local beaches and sold it to bolster his income.

His father’s commitment to his mining colleagues meant that in 1966 he missed Charlton scoring both goals against Portugal in that World Cup semifinal because he didn’t want someone else to have to cover for him in the pit. He was, however, persuaded to attend the final when the Charlton brothers lifted the trophy.

Charlton’s playing career began far from home in Manchester after leaving school at 15, making his United debut three years later against Charlton in 1956.

Within two years, tragedy struck the tight-knit group of United players whose relationship was forged as trainees in austere conditions. The team was still celebrating winning at Red Star Belgrade to secure a place in the European Cup semi finals when their plane caught fire on its third attempt to take off in heavy snow after a refueling stop in Germany.

Charlton miraculously emerged from the smoldering wreckage with only light head injuries and picked his way through the wreckage to help survivors. Spotting manager Matt Busby groaning in agony on the smoke-shrouded runway, Charlton rushed to help the father-figure who had promoted him to the first team.

But eight members of the “Busby Babes” team packed with bright prospects were among the 21 fatalities. They included Duncan Edwards, considered one of England’s most talented players at 21.

“Sometimes it engulfs me with terrible anger and regret and sadness—and guilt that I walked away and found so much,” Charlton wrote in 2007.

Charlton became driven by a lingering obligation to preserve the memories of the Munich dead, returning to action less than four weeks later and helping a hurriedly assembled team of survivors and stand-ins reach that season’s FA Cup final.

Busby rebuilt his team around Charlton, adding the 1965 and 1967 English league titles to the championship they won in 1957.

“There was always one great hope—the return to greatness of my beloved club,” Charlton said.

The biggest prize of his club career arrived in 1968 as United became the first English club to become champion of Europe. Charlton scored twice in a 4-1 extra-time win over a Benfica team containing Portugal great Eusebio.

But Charlton is perhaps best known for being part of the England team that won the World Cup. It remains England’s only major title in men’s soccer.

Charlton and his brother fell out over Jack’s public assertion that Bobby’s wife caused him to become estranged from his mother. But the pair reconciled and Jack presented Bobby with a lifetime achievement trophy at the 2008 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award.

“We have had our public disputes, proving that in any family discord can sometimes disrupt the force of love and blood, but throughout that time I never lost the sense of wonder and gratitude that we were together in 1966 on such a great day in the history of our nation’s sport,” Bobby Charlton said.

In Nov 2020, it was announced that Charlton had been diagnosed with dementia, the same disease that afflicted his brother—who died in 2020 at age 85—and another World Cup winner, Nobby Stiles.

“This man, from day one, was everything I wanted to be,” United striker Marcus Rashford wrote of Charlton after hearing about the diagnosis. “Kind, professional, caring, talented.”

He is survived by his wife, Norma, whom he married in 1961, and his two daughters.

AP

Kathmandu: Nepal has secured its spot in the final of the ACC U-19 Premier Cup Cricket Tournament. In the semi-final match held in Malaysia, Nepal defeated Japan by 144 runs under the Duckworth-Lewis method.

With its entry into the final, Nepal has qualified to compete in the U-19 Asia Cup to be held in Pakistan.

The match was affected by rain when Nepal had scored 140 runs with the loss of two wickets in 25 overs. As the rain continued to delay the game, the stipulated 50 overs were reduced to 22, with a target of 187 runs set for Japan to win. In response, Japan managed to score only 43 runs in 11.5 overs, losing all their wickets.

None of Japan’s players, apart from Shotaro Hiratsuka (15) and Kiefer Yamamoto (13), could reach a double-digit score.

Nepal’s Hemant Dhami and Dipesh Kandel took three wickets each, while Subash Bhandari took two, and Akash Chand took one wicket.

Deepak Bohora was the top scorer for Nepal, amassing 79 runs with 10 boundaries and two sixes in 70 balls.

Similarly, Deepak and Akash Tripathi partnered for 93 runs for the second wicket, with Akash contributing 35 runs, while Arjun Kumal made 10 runs and Dev Khanal scored eight.

Nepal will face the UAE in the final on Oct 24. The UAE reached the final by defeating Singapore in another semi-final match.