KATHMANDU: Nepali karateka Dawa Sherpa and Manish Kumar Karki will participate in the Fourth Kyokushin Tezuka Cup World Karate Championships 2025 to be held in Japan from February 21 to 25.

Manish will compete in men’s kumite 55kg weight category while Dawa will compete in individual kata, announced Nepal Kyokushin Karate (IKO) during a press conference in Tripureshwar on Tuesday. 

The event being organised by International Karate Organisation Sohonbu Kyokushinkaikan Tezuka Group will take place in Fukuoka and Sendai. Nepali players will compete in Fukuoka city. More than 800 players from 25 countries are scheduled to take part in the event. 

According to Daman Basnet, the president of Nepal IKO, the duo have been undergoing special training for the past eight months to prepare for the event. They will be accompanied by president Basnet, general secretary Sangeet Basnet and coach Roshan Kapali. 

“We are able to send only two players due to financial constraints and unlike other games the players need not pay for their travel,” said Basnet adding that the two players were selected through a qualifier held on September 13 last year. 

Meanwhile, president Basnet also handed over certificates to newly appointed treasurer and executive member of Nepal IKO Baba Khadka Subedi and Jenish Dangol respectively.