In 2020, he had the chance to officiate at both the G1 level World Ranking Game in Hamburg, Germany, and the G2 level World Ranking Game in France. He also took part in the Pakistan COAS Open International Taekwondo Championship as a referee. His career as a national referee, however, began in 2022.
“In the context of national taekwondo refereeing, educational qualification isn’t given much importance,” he says. “To be eligible for international refereeing, one must possess basic level English speaking skills and other qualifications.” He thinks that as compared to other countries, Nepal’s national taekwondo competition uses outdated equipment, resources, and technology. “It might take Nepal more than a decade to catch up to the international level in the technical aspect,” he adds. Taekwondo, in his opinion, is the art of the hands and the limbs. “Taekwondo is associated with kicking and punching methods, physical fitness, martial arts, and self defense,” he says. Dhakal sees taekwondo as a sport that empowers women as it teaches self defense. He also believes taekwondo is a methodical and disciplined sport that gives participants spiritual, mental, and physical strength. “But refereeing is a whole new ball game. It’s not as simple as it looks,” says Dhakal. Referees, according to him, need quick observation skills, excellent concentration, patience, and the ability to thrive well under pressure. “A referee has to watch the game carefully, track time, call out faults and communicate,” he says. He also clarifies that if a referee makes a mistake, the coach may appeal by showing cards, and any issues will be resolved by the jury’s decision. Missing one fault can affect the scoring of athletes and the outcome of the game. To avoid this, referees have to be very attentive and regulate matches with rules. “Referees have the power to maintain discipline in the game,” he adds, “They have the authority to take away a player’s point and give the opponent an advantage, as well as suspend the game in the case of aggressive behavior.” After having witnessed and taken part in numerous international matches, he’s content with how far he has come. He says that his initial exposure to international refereeing gave him momentum. He represented Nepal and won various awards both nationally and internationally. He was given an ‘Encouragement Award’ for Nepal’s first-ever involvement in international refereeing at the Military World Game in 2019. He received the ‘West Referee Award’ for the Spanish Open match in the 2022 World Ranking Jeeto Taekwondo Championship, which was held in Alicante, Spain. Dhakal also won the ‘National Talent Award 2023’ and a cash prize of Rs 100,000 from the Ministry of Youth and Sports for his performance at the national-level game. Dhakal is now qualified for a third class license after completing the seminar test, and recently, he obtained second class license after refereeing eight World Ranking Games in less than two years. He is now striving for the first class. If everything goes according to plan, he says that he’ll be in Australia for the 2023 Australia Open, 2023 Oceania Para Taekwondo Open Championship, and the 2023 WT President Cup (Oceania region) in July. Dhakal overcame several challenges and setbacks to achieve this success. Even though a referee is a crucial part of the game, he claims they aren’t given much respect in Nepal. “The service, incentives, and facilities for referees are extremely limited,” he continues. “We must cover all of our costs and airfares, excluding lodging and meals, even if we are traveling for a big international game while representing Nepal.” Given that the individual will be representing Nepal, he expresses his opinion that the government should be taking care of that. “Like they have been doing for athletes, the government needs to set aside a platform, training, seminar, and equipment for referees as well,” he says.
