Kathmandu: Niranjan Adhikari was elected the new president of the Nepal Sports Journalists Forum (NSJF), the umbrella body representing Nepali sports journalists, in Kathmandu on Thursday.

Adhikari, a senior sports journalist, defeated former general secretary Prakash Timalsina in the presidential race during an Electoral Congress and the 20th Annual General Assembly that also elected an 11-member executive committee for a three-year term.

Prajwal Oli, the outgoing general secretary, was unanimously chosen as the first vice president, while Gobina Regmi and Sanjeev Silpakar retained their roles as vice presidents.

Anjan Khadka, a former secretary, was elevated to general secretary after defeating Raju Ghising. Anil Mall Thakuri secured the post of secretary. He defeated Govindraj Nepal. Muna Karki (treasurer) and Namita Dahal (women member) were elected unopposed.

Newly elected NSJF President Adhikari.

Ramesh Subedi, Kabiraj Sharma, and Abhinav Joshi were elected members of the committee. Bhupesh Upadhyaya and Binay Jyoti Sapkota were unsuccessful in their bids.

Federation of Nepali Journalists general secretary Ram Prasad Dahal, who also served as the chief election officer, handed over certificates to the newly elected members.

In his post-election remarks, President Adhikari pledged to strengthen sports journalism in Nepal and continue the innovative efforts of the outgoing leadership.

A closed session held prior to the election unanimously approved the progress report presented by then-general secretary Oli and the financial report by acting treasurer Muna Karki.

The opening ceremony was attended by National Sports Council member secretary Tanka Lal Ghising who commended NSJF’s contributions to sports development in the country.