Karnali Province Chief Minister Mangal Bahadur Shahi on Sunday said there will be no shortage of budget for preparations aimed at winning medals at the 10th National Games, and urged the Karnali Province Sports Development Council to waste no time in selecting the province's best athletes. Speaking at a discussion organized by the accommodation management subcommittee in Birendranagar, Surkhet, Shahi said the province must now convert its planning into serious, result-oriented preparation, according to a report by Rato Pati.

His message to the gathering was direct: Karnali should prepare to win medals, and money will not be allowed to become an excuse. The Chief Minister framed the 10th National Games as both a difficult challenge and a golden opportunity for the province, and called on everyone involved to unite in facing the challenge and seizing the opportunity.

Budget Will Not Be a Barrier

Addressing a concern that frequently clouds the run-up to major sporting events, Shahi made it clear that the provincial government stands behind the preparation drive financially. He directed the Karnali Province Sports Development Council to identify and select top athletes from across the province and to prepare them with the specific aim of winning medals when the Games begin.

The assurance carries practical weight. Sports councils and preparation committees often hesitate to launch training programmes or arrange logistics when they are unsure whether funds will actually follow. By stating publicly, before the subcommittee, that budget will not be a problem, the Chief Minister has sought to remove that hesitation at the outset and place the responsibility for delivery squarely on the sports council.

The key messages from Shahi's address can be summarized as follows:

  • Select the province's top athletes and begin preparation without delay.
  • Train them with the clear objective of winning medals at the 10th National Games.
  • Budget will not be a problem, and a lack of funds should not be used as a reason to slow down.
  • All stakeholders should come together and unite behind the effort.

A Challenge and a Golden Opportunity

For Shahi, the 10th National Games is not just another event on the provincial calendar. He described it as a difficult challenge as well as a golden opportunity for Karnali, a double-edged framing that reflects what preparing for a national multi-sport gathering actually involves. An event of this scale tests athlete readiness, management capacity and infrastructure all at once, which is precisely why bodies such as the accommodation management subcommittee are already at work in Birendranagar.

At the same time, he emphasized, the occasion gives Karnali a stage on which to prove itself. Athletes from the province will get the chance to compete against the best in the country, while the province as a whole can demonstrate that it can organize and manage competition at the national level. The Chief Minister's call for unity was aimed at ensuring that the province faces the challenge and seizes the opportunity together, rather than letting the moment slip.

What the National Games Means for Karnali

The National Games is Nepal's premier multi-sport competition, bringing together athletes from across the country's provinces to compete in a wide range of disciplines. For Karnali's sportspersons, it represents the biggest stage on which to measure their progress, and for the province as a whole it is a moment to show that commitment and training can translate into medals.

Shahi's decision to link the budget question directly to medal ambition signals that the provincial government wants results, not just participation. His instruction to the sports council to pick top athletes points to a focus on concentrating preparation on those with genuine medal prospects.

Accommodation at the Center of Preparations

The setting for Sunday's remarks was itself telling. The discussion was organized by the accommodation management subcommittee, one of the bodies charged with the practical groundwork for the Games, indicating that lodging for athletes, officials and guests has emerged as a priority area in the preparations underway in Surkhet.

Accommodation is a core component of any multi-sport event. Athletes, coaches and dignitaries all need to be housed and managed smoothly for the duration of the competition, and any shortfall reflects directly on how the province staging the Games is judged. That a subcommittee dedicated to this file of work is holding discussions in Birendranagar, with the Chief Minister himself present to give direction, suggests the province is treating such logistical details as central rather than secondary to its preparations.

With the Chief Minister's budget assurance now on record, attention turns to the Karnali Province Sports Development Council and the various preparation committees. The direction from the top is unambiguous: select the best athletes, prepare them to win, and do so without waiting for money. Whether Karnali converts its golden opportunity into medals will now depend on how quickly and rigorously that instruction is carried out on the ground.