| dautari |
Posted
on 14-Mar-04 07:47 PM
This is a news article on New Kerala.com blasting Nepalese media for not highlighting India's win over Pakistan in the one-day International cricket match in Karachi.
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World News > India wins in Karachi, loses to Nepal media
Kathmandu, Mar 14 (IANS) :
India won the one-dayer at Karachi but lost the game in Nepal as far as the local media went - to a charity soccer match, a vintage car rally and an international jazz festival.
While the resumption of cricket ties between South Asian giants India and Pakistan kept sports lovers from both countries glued to their television sets, the Himalayan kingdom gave a cool reception to the historic one-day match.
The media preferred instead to turn the limelight on a football match held Saturday in the capital's Dashrath Stadium.
A packed stadium cheered the side led by the US ambassador to Nepal Michael E. Malinowski, comprising diplomats from the embassies and missions in Kathmandu.
The rivals were the team of bureaucrats captained by Nepal's chief secretary Bimal Prasad Koirala.
The match, in which Diplomatic Mission XI won a convincing victory, scoring seven goals to their opponents' two, found its way to the front page of the local dailies Sunday while the nail-biting India-Pakistan match, in which India won by five runs over its traditional rival, was played down.
The way the match has been reported by the local media - both before and after - reflects the prevailing bias against India.
On Saturday morning, before the match started, the headlines highlighted the dismal performance of the Indian team on Thursday when it was defeated by Pakistani A in the warm-up match of the visiting team.
"Pakistani cricketers ready to exploit chinks in Indian armour", said The Himalayan Times that in a recent editorial article had accused the Indian government of acting "on the sly" regarding bilateral water resources, triggering a stinging rejoinder from the Indian Embassy.
"Pakistan ready to cash (sic) India's weak side", said the government-owned Rising Nepal while the Kathmandu Post, a strident critic of Indian policies, headlined its report "India desperate to put behind disastrous friendly".
However, after India's victory over Pakistan, only the Himalayan Times reported the triumph on its front page.
"India wins thriller in Pak", it said while the still unconvinced Post preferred to describe the win as "Lucky Indians survive Haq havoc", referring to the majestic knock by Pakistani captain Inzamam-ul-Haq, who went on to score 122 and was declared man of the match.
Besides the soccer match in Kathmandu, which raised money for the welfare of children affected by the Maoist insurgency, a Beetle car rally flagged off from the valley to Dhulikhel and an international jazz festival spread over the city and its upmarket hotels, grabbed the rest of the media attention.
However, Indian expatriates made up for it with their fervour.
While Pakistan's ambassador to Nepal Zamir Akram played in the soccer match for some time, Indian diplomats in the capital tended to make a rush for the small screen to watch the exciting match.
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