Nepal debate team sets national record

The Nepali debate team has set a new national record at the World Schools Debating Championship (WSDC) by advancing into the knockout rounds and reaching the Round of 16 for the first time. The team concluded their historic run at the 36th edition of the Championships, held in Belgrade, Serbia, narrowly losing to Qatar in the Round of 16.

Team Nepal won five out of eight preliminary rounds and secured 13 ballots across all preliminary rounds. They achieved victories against Uganda, Argentina, Slovakia, Poland, and Japan, with losses to the Netherlands, Serbia, and England. In the knockout stage, Nepal defeated the UAE in the Round of 32.

Previously ranked 40th in the world for debate, the Nepali team finished as one of the top 16 countries out of the 68 participating in the World Championship, breaking all previous national records. The team members—Bishwojeet Bista, Sadhabi Mahat, Sangya Pandey, and Sujal Khadka—were coached by former national team member and DNN Board Member Pragyan Kumar Acharya. Debate Network Nepal (DNN), the national debating body, facilitated the screening and participation. The team was supported by Himalayan Capital Pvt Ltd and Lumiere Education.

Nepal first participated in the WSDC in 2010 in Qatar, followed by appearances in 2011 in Scotland and 2015 in Singapore. Since the 2016 WSDC in Germany, DNN has been facilitating the participation. This is Nepal's 12th participation and the ninth iteration managed by DNN.

The global tournament follows a three-versus-three WSDC format, with each round lasting an hour and featuring six main speeches and two reply speeches. Impromptu Points of Information (POIs) are exchanged during the main speeches and must be addressed by the speaker on the spot. The topics, referred to as motions, are considered to be proposed by the Government side in Parliament. The motion for the Round of 16 was “This house regrets the narrative that money cannot buy happiness.” Out of the three judges, the Chair Judge voted in favor of Nepal, but it was not enough for Opposition Nepal to advance to the quarter-finals.