Pashupati Paneru
| Pashupati Paneru | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Personal information | |
| Country |
 Nepal |
| Born |
20 July 1982 Dhangadhi |
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) |
| Weight | 63 kg (139 lb; 9.9 st) |
Pashupati Paneru (born 20 July 1982 in Dhangadhi, Kailali) is a retired Nepalese badminton player who featured in single and double events in the National and the International tournaments. Having won fourteen Singles, two Doubles and three Mixed Doubles National titles and finished as runner up in numerous other National finals, he is considered to be most successful badminton player of Nepal.
Personal life
In his early years, Paneru showed interest in cricket and represented his home town in Jay Trophy held in Bhairawa. However, he was encouraged to play badminton by his uncle (Umesh Bhandari) despite being talk of the town in local cricketing circles.
Achievements
Pashupati Paneru, has claimed bronze medals in the Ninth and 10th South Asian Games in team events. Paneru participated in six editions of the Asian Badminton Championship from 2002 to 2008 and also represented Nepal in the Thomas Cup World Team Championship in 2001 and 2006. He has won the New York Open, CT Open, Mid-Atlantic Open. His most notable achievement was representing Nepal in the 15th World Championships(Mixed Doubles) in 2006 in Spain. He is among the most successful Nepalese badminton players.
He is the recipient of Gorkha Dakshyan Bahu 5th, awarded to individual with exceptional service to the country.
He is also famous for several memorable National badminton final performances. Most notably, he came out of 3 years break to retain APF Krishna Mohan Memorial National Tournament in 2010 without much competition.
He has been living in USA since 2008. Currently, he is associated with Maugus Club Wellesley, MA and Boston Badminton Club.
Retirement and Controversies
When he left for US in 2008, he rubbed the Nepal Badminton Association on wrong side. NBA backed out of its promise to organize a retirement ceremony at eleventh hour. But, this didn't deter Paneru from announcing his retirement on Jan 17,2013. Unprofessional behavior of NBA towards the player of Paneru's stature led to severe backlash from media, athletes and individual from several walks of life. He also left a National Camp for Asian Championships in 2007, midway after Chief Coach and General Secretary of NBA allegedly tried to undermine him. However, dispute was resolved after NBA officials intervened. Often termed as outspoken, he was marred by controversies throughout his career.
References
1. http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=48512. myrepublica.com,Kathmandu, Jan 18, 2013.
2. http://maugus.com/web/training. maugus.com
3. http://www.ekantipur.com/2013/01/19/sports/nepal-badminton-ace-paneru-calls-it-a-day/365815.html. ekantipur.com, Kathmandu, Jan 19
4. http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=Pashupati%2C+Pooja+claim+titles&NewsID=273146. thehimalayantimes.com
5. http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=Former+champ+Paneru+announces+retirement&NewsID=362451. thehimalayantimes.com
6. http://nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=1632. nepalitimes.com,Suresh Raj Neupane (29 OCT 2004 - 04 NOV 2004) 7.http://www.onlinesahitya.com/magazine/readarticle.php?AID=737. onlinesahitya.com, Bijay Paudel June 8, 2005.