Our Tiger from Bajhang is in the news not only here in Nepal or where our Nepali diaspora live, work or study but all around the world thanks to his win in the UFC thing in Macau! I think the UFC wallahs should just hand Rabindra the contract even before he faces his opponent in the semi-finals!
It was surprising for me to even see the Nepal Police congratulating Rabindra for his quarterfinal win against the Filipino fighter. Rabindra became a household name last year when he defeated an Indian fighter and today, he is the talk of the town. Well, everyone was busy making reels and congratulating our Tiger and it's a good thing but hope we will also cheer for our athletes the same way when they struggle and sometimes face defeats along the way.
It's a good thing that the fight happened in Macau where we have thousands of our folks working there and thousands more living in Hong Kong. Our Nepali diaspora filled the venue, cheered the loudest and even gave the UFC boss a few minutes to look up 'Nepal' in Wikipedia and think about holding some UFC fights in Kathmandu someday!
Rabindra Dhant was born in Bajhang. Our far-western region is probably the most ignored place in Nepal by those in power since many centuries. Be it the Chaubise Rajas ,or the Shah Kings or the democratic and republican forces, they have long ignored the region for far too long.
Maybe, that's why most of the youth go to India to seek better employment opportunities rather than travel to Kathmandu and do the same because it is much easier and cheaper to cross the border than visit the Capital! Today, a million or more folks working across the border are mostly from this region.
Rabindra too sought work across the border after his SLC and worked there for years to save a few thousand Rupees a month. He struggled with hunger, discrimination and other problems like many of our migrant workers who face harrassment, racist comments and even physical abuse while working in India.
Today, Rabindra is a household name in Nepal. He is our pride. He is our Tiger but it is about time, we look into ourselves and help to pitch in and contribute to the development of any sports in this country by donating at least a few hundred Rupees a month. Our Sports Ministry budget should be at least 1% of the budget and not a measly 20-30 million dollars a year.
And it's not only cricket, which seem to be all the craze nowadays or football but even athletics and MMA and tennis and swimming and also 30+ other sports should be promoted, funded and encouraged at the local level.
Sports does unite us all. We may not like each other because I support LIverpool and you are a die-hard Man U fan. I like Rajesh Hamal and You like Dayahang. I like Karela and you like Kale but when it comes to sports, we do hug each other and celebrate when our athletes make us proud in the global stage.
So while we celebrate international successes by our athletes, let us also see their struggles and pain and not only reward them when they are winners but also fund the messy invisible struggle that comes before it.
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