"Won Gold Medal In Australia Sambo Championship. - :) feeling happy," Bam, who is on a personal visit to Australia, posted on Facebook after winning gold in the 57 kg weight category during the Australian national selection games held at Zenbu Judo Club, Silverwater, Australia on Sunday. [break]
Bam told Republica that anyone staying in Australia for more than two months was eligible to compete in the event but only Australians were entitled to sponsorship from the national federation.
"There were four players in my weight category, including myself and three Australians. But in some weight categories there were players from Brazil, while Vietnam had three contestants," Bam told Republica through email.
Mohan Bam
Bam, who is a judo player by profession, rode his luck as he got selected for the championship -- which is almost similar to judo -- after taking a sambo coaching course in Australia recently.
Bam says he defeated all his opponents and secured a total of 12 points -- four in each league match -- to clinch gold.
However, his success has been overshadowed by the fact that Nepal Sambo Federation (NSF) doesn´t officially recognize his achievement.
"Yes, a Nepali player secured gold medal in Australia," confirmed Dhananjay Shrestha, president of Nepal Sambo Federation.
"We have just learnt that Mohan Ban clinched gold. He had earlier won medal during the South Asian Sambo Championship here. But this time, he was on a personal tour. We didn´t participate in the tournament officially," he added.
While Nepal is pondering what step it should next take regarding Bam´s success, the player says he has already received offers from Australia and Russia to represent their national teams as they were impressed with his performance.
But Bam is adamant that he will only play for Nepal.
"They want me to play for Australia but I don´t want to. Also the Russian coach wants me to be in Russia for training. But I will only play for Nepal," Bam wrote in the mail.
Bam´s success has turned sour as he has been unable to find sponsors for his trip to St Petersburg, where the World Championships will be held from November 21 to 25.
NSF President Shrestha said that no Nepali player had earlier qualified for the World Championships.
"We just got the news. We are yet to decide what to do. We are planning to call a meeting to discuss what to do," he added.
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