Nepal will participate in both, men and women, Twenty20 cricket event in the Asian Games in Guangzhou, the XVI Asiad, as the teams have been confirmed for the event.
There are ten countries participating in the men’s competition and eight in the women’s, according to Asian Cricket Council (ACC).
In men, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Maldives, Pakistan, Singapore and Sri Lanka will compete along with Nepal. The match-schedule has yet to be finalized though in the men’s event it is likely that Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan will be seeded and await to play the best of the other teams that come through the preliminary round.
In women, Nepal will participate alongside Bangladesh, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Pakistan, Singapore and Thailand
The Asiad in Guangzhou is the biggest Games so far, with 42 disciplines. The Games run from November 12 to 27 2010 and close to 8000 athletes and over 4500 officials will be taking part.
“This is cricket’s first entry into the Asian Games and it is a tremendous opportunity to bring cricket to a new audience and showcase it on a non-traditional platform where millions of new fans will be watching. Guangzhou has done marvelously in creating a state of the art facility for the cricket event and we hope that the countries taking part enjoy being part of an Asian sporting community in such a high-profile event. Winning a medal is something the players will all remember for a long time, the experience of taking part will also be cherished,” ACC quoted its Chief Executive Syed Ashraful Huq as saying.