Pokhara Sports / Since Nepal’s first-ever women’s volleyball league, the Everest Women’s Volleyball League, was announced to begin from Bhadra 20, Pokhara had turned volleyball-centric with excitement. The franchise team representing Pokhara, owned and officially launched by the Vserve Group, is named Pokhara Ninjas.
The second edition of the league was hosted outside the capital for the first time ever, with Infinity Dreams Pvt. Ltd. as the organizer. The journey of the Pokhara Ninjas team began in Pokhara with a special welcome by Pokhara Metropolitan City Mayor Dhanaraj Acharya.
At a special event held at Barahighat on the shores of Fewa Lake , the tourism hub of Pokhara, Mayor Acharya welcomed the players and team members, expressing his confidence that Pokhara would emerge victorious.
A total of six teams from different cities and provinces of Nepal participated in the Everest Women’s Volleyball League. The franchises competing were Madhesh United, Lalitpur Queens, Kathmandu Spikers, Pokhara Ninjas, Karnali Yashwis, and Lumbini Lava.
The opening match of the tournament on Friday, Bhadra 20, was played between Karnali Yashwis and Pokhara Ninjas. In that match, the home team Pokhara Ninjas faced a straight-set defeat of 3–0. Pokhara lost the sets 25–21, 25–20, and 25–14. In the second match as well, Pokhara was defeated by Lumbini Lava 25–19, 25–23, and 25–21. In another intense battle with Lumbini, Pokhara again lost 3–2. Pokhara went down 13–25, 25–23, 10–25, 26–28, and 10–15. They also lost another match to Madhesh United by 3–1 sets.
Meanwhile, due to a special political situation that arose in the country, the ongoing Everest Volleyball League in Pokhara had to be postponed. The foreign players participating for various teams returned to their respective countries. However, the organizers later resumed the league at the covered hall of Dasharath Stadium in Kathmandu. There, Pokhara lost to Lalitpur Queens in straight sets 3–0, but managed a 3–1 victory against Kathmandu Spikers. Likewise, Pokhara lost 3–0 to Lumbini Queens and 3–0 to Karnali Spikers as well.
The Pokhara Ninjas team comprised players Ms. Pragati Nath, Ms. Punam Chand, Ms. Mina Sunar, Ms. Sunita Khatri, Ms. Garima Bohara, Ms. Anjila Pradhan, Ms. Nisha Mahara, Ms. Bhawana Tamang, foreign players Ms. Adeola Owokoniran, Ms. Lea Boban, and Ms. Anamaria Berdila, along with Talent Hunt player Ms. Grishma Gurung.
The team staff included Head Coach Mr. Rupesh Bista, Assistant Coach Mr. Santosh Shrestha, Head of Operations Mr. Vikash Khetan, Media Manager Ms. Sandhya Dhungana, Physiotherapist Mr. Priya Lama, Liaison Officer Mr. Keshav Pathak, and Campaign Ambassador Ms. Sanisha Bhattarai
Though Pokhara Ninjas had three foreign players in the squad, the team lacked overall balance. Despite the defeats on the court, Pokhara Ninjas-known for excellent management-won the hearts of Pokhara’s volleyball-loving community.
The title of the second edition of the Everest Women’s Volleyball League was won by Karnali Yashwis. Karnali defeated Lalitpur Queens in the final to claim the championship. This marked Karnali’s second consecutive title, as they had also beaten Lalitpur in the final of the first edition.
