Nepal Sports – The Most Popular Sports in Nepal

The Most Popular Nepali Sports

Find below Nepal national sports, ranked by popularity:

So there you have them, the most popular sports in Nepal! Keep reading below for more information about each sport in Nepal.

What is the National Sport of Nepal?

The national sport of Nepal is volleyball.

Not many countries officially declared their national sport, but Nepal did. Since 23 May 2017, the sport has been one of the official emblems of the country, even though it is not the most popular one.

Learn More About Nepal Popular Sports

Nepal is a small landlocked country with a very unique flag. It is located in the southern part of Asia, and it is bordered by Tibet of China, India, Bhutan, and Bangladesh. It is very famous for having the highest mountain on Earth, Mount Everest. Its capital city is Kathmandu, which counts more than 975,000 inhabitants.

An interesting part of the country that I wanted to tackle is its most popular sports. In light of that, I have listed all Nepal popular sports, and I hope you will love them:

Football

The most popular sport in Nepal is, like in many other countries, football.

This has been the case for quite a while actually. The sport has been popular for years, and it has a very large fan base. The All Nepal Football Association was founded in order to develop the sport in the country and to ensure its success.

Football was introduced in Nepal by the Ranas during their reign. Prime Minister Padam Shamsher started a tournament in 2004, which gathered a lot of public interest.

Famous Nepali Football players: Kiran Chemjong, Rohit Chand, Anil Gurung, Bharat Khawas, Sujal Shrestha, Bishal Rai, Ju Manu Rai, Sagar Thapa, Hari Khadka, Bikram Lama, Biraj Maharjan

Cricket

The second most popular sport in Nepal is cricket.

Believe it or not, cricket is extremely popular in Nepal, and it has been since its introduction in the 1920s: the Ranas came back from their studies in England and India and brought cricket with them.

In fact, the sport is still growing to this day, and there is a Cricket Association of Nepal which is part of the National Sports Council. There are 429 cricket clubs in Nepal as well as 227 junior cricket clubs.

Famous Nepali Cricket players: Paras Khadka, Gyanendra Malla, Sandeep Lamichhane, Sharad Vesawkar, Shakti Gauchan, Dipendra Singh Airee, Basanta Regmi, Sompal Kami

Volleyball

The third most popular sport in Nepal is volleyball.

And here we are with Nepal’s national sport. While it is not the most popular sport in the country, it is still definitely in the top 3. The Nepal Volleyball Association asked the government to make it a national sport, which got approved since it does not require a lot of space to be played nor much money.

Everyone in the country loves playing volleyball, whether it is in the middle of the Himalayan mountains or the Terai regions.

Famous Nepali Volleyball players: Hari Hajur Thapa, Bishal Bahadur B.K., Dwarika Thapa, Rabin Chand, Dhan Bahadur Bhatta, Tek Raj Awasthi, Durga Bahadur Khadka, Saran Saamri

Swimming

The fourth most popular sport in Nepal is swimming.

Yes, Nepal is a landlocked country, which means it does not have access to either the sea or the ocean, but swimming is still a very popular sport in the country. In fact, swimming is one of the most popular sports at the Olympics for Nepal, even though the country has yet to win a medal.

The international fame of Nepali swimmers has helped grow the sport’s popularity. For instance, Gaurika Singh was the youngest participant in the Olympic Games in swimming at the age of 13.

Famous Nepali Swimming players: Karishma Karki, Sirish Gurung, Gaurika Singh, Chitra Bahadur Gurung, Prasiddha Jung Shah, Alice Shrestha, Runa Pradhan, Shreya Dhital, Sitaram Shahi, Alexander Shah

Boxing

The fifth most popular sport in Nepal is boxing.

Fighting sports have become more and more popular in recent years, all around the world, and Nepal particularly loves boxing, among many others. Boxing has a growing fanbase, and again the fame of Nepali boxers on the world scene has significantly helped the sport.

The governing body of boxing in Nepal is the Nepal Boxing Association. It oversees professional boxing in the country, and continuously works towards improving it.

Famous Nepali Boxing players: Damber Dutta Bhatta, Ram Prasad Gurung, Narendra Poma, Bishnu Malakar, Bishnu Bahadur Singh, Dalbahadur Ranamagar, Rabi Raj Thapa, Nam Singh Thapa

Martial Arts

The sixth most popular sport in Nepal is martial arts.

There are many martial arts variants that Nepalis are very proficient at. The most famous of them are probably karate, kung fu, gurkha kukri, and judo. Similarly to boxing, all of these sports are both growing and popular.

Depending on the sport, the goal is different: some are used in the military, and some others for fighting purposes, self-defense, competitions, or entertainment. From kids to adults, everyone has a good reason to do martial arts in Nepal.

Famous Nepali Martial Arts players: Sita Kumari Rai, Bimala Tamang, Phupu Lhamu Khatri, Yuki Angdembe, Nirupam Chettri, Dagendra Tamang, Anisha Khadka, Rabindra Dhant

Tennis

The seventh most popular sport in Nepal is tennis.

Generally speaking, tennis is not the most popular sport on the planet because it is usually considered a sport for wealthy people.

In Nepal though, the sport is still decently popular, and it is played individually or as a pair of players. The Nepal Tennis Association rules over tennis in the country. However, Nepal still has to show up on an international scale, as its best player, Priti Rijal, is only ranked nationally.

Famous Nepali Tennis players: Priti Rijal, Aarav Samrat Hada, Aki Zuben Rawat, Abhilasha Bista, Prerana Koirala

Dandi Biyo

The eighth most popular sport in Nepal is dandi biyo.

The next four sports are very unique ones that you might have never heard of. They are either only in Nepal or only in the neighboring region.

The first of them, Dandi Biyo, is very popular in the rural areas of the country. It used to be considered the national sport before volleyball was officially proclaimed, and it is played with long sticks (dandi) and a long wooden pin (biyo). It was developed locally, and it is definitely easier to understand than cricket, hence its popularity.

Famous Nepali Dandi Biyo players: Subodh Chhetri

Kabaddi

Fars Media Corporation / CC BY

The ninth most popular sport in Nepal is kabaddi.

The next unique sport on this list is kabaddi, which is actually one of the most famous games played in Nepal that originated in India. Now, it is popular in other countries as well.

This sport is a tag game that is played with 2 teams of 7 players each. The goal of the game is for a single player to run into the half of a court of the opposing team and tag as many defenders as possible before running back to his own team.

Famous Nepali Kabaddi players: Jay Bahadur Bohara, Sanjay Shrestha, Anish Suwal, Balaram Rajchal, Bashudev Bashyal, Surendra Yadav, Sandip Kumar Gupta, Munna Kumar Patel, Birat Gupta

Kho Kho

The tenth most popular Nepal sport is kho kho.

The third unique Nepali sport is kho kho. This one also originates from India, and it is quite ancient. It is also a tag game, and it is played with groups of 12 players, including 9 chasing squad players and 3 guarding team players.

In the whole Indian subcontinent, kho kho is one of the most popular sports, and Nepal also loves it. One of the main reasons why it is so popular is that it represents the old traditions and culture of Nepali rural areas.

Famous Nepali Kho Kho players: Dhana Prasad Chaudhary, Kushal Meche, Ganesh Bishwakarma

Kushti

Fahad Ullah / CC BY-NC-ND

The eleventh most popular sport in Nepal is kushti, also known as pehlwani.

Kushti is a variant of wrestling also coming from India. The rules are a bit different from the version you probably know of, and it is nowadays providing great entertainment to many Nepali fans.

The Terai region is where kushti is considered very prestigious, and people from all villages in the vicinity are always warned so they can come and attend the games. Locally, wrestlers have built their reputation and earned respect. The government is slowly but steadily approaching kushti for its popularity in the countryside.

Table tennis

The twelfth most popular sport in Nepal is table tennis.

Table tennis is mostly appreciated by Nepali youth. Since it can be played in a small space, which is usually a great reason to be a popular sport in Nepal with all the mountainous regions, it is widely played.

Despite all of this, the Nepali government still does not consider table tennis to reach enough people. Otherwise, it could have been more promoted and become more popular, which is a shame since young people love playing the game as a way to spend their energy.

Famous Nepali Table tennis players: Shyantu Shrestha, Suwal Sikka, Maharjan Elina, Tamang Deekshyanep, Nembang Swechchha, Maharjan Rabina

Chess

The thirteenth and last most popular sport in Nepal is chess.

Last but not least, chess is quite rare in the list of the most popular sports in any country, but it is reputed in Nepal for being played by intelligent people. It is also seen as a game of kings and queens because it is based on the story of the war of ancient days.

It is not very clear when the game was introduced to Nepal, but old kings used to play it, and Nepal has now grown its own players. The most famous and successful Nepali chess players are Thing Bibek, Jaiswal Rupesh, and Kayastha Madan Krishna.

Famous Nepali Chess players: Thing Bibek, Jaiswal Rupesh, Kayastha Madan Krishna, Chaulagain Purushottam, Panta Sumit, Hamal Manish, Maharjan Sajin, Rajbhandari Rijendra, Niraula Bhupendra, Bhandari Kshitiz

So there you have them, these were all the most popular sports in Nepal. I hope you enjoyed them and that you learned something new today.

In case you want to learn more about sports in other countries, feel free to keep reading, as I still have lots of things to tell you about:

More Sport Facts!

Loved these Nepal sports facts? Want to see what sports are the most popular in other countries?

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• Famous Sports in Sri Lanka
• Famous Sports in Indonesia
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