Kathmandu, July 6: Nepal finished as the runner-up in the 9th South Asian Karate Championship held in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Nepal came second among six nations, with 21 gold, nine silver and 20 bronze medals, according to Nepal Karate Federation President Yubaraj Lama.
Erika Gurung, who was nicknamed the Himalayan Warriors by the Karate Federation won two gold medals in above 68 kg (individual and team kumite) along with Pushpaka Lama in 50 kg, and Sabina Shrestha in under 55 kg
Pradeep Baijali Magar won one gold each in U-21 and senior individual kumite and a silver in team kumite.
It may be noted that Nepal had become the team champion in the seventh and eighth edition held in Nepal and Bhutan respectively.
In the 9th edition, India became the team champion with 23 gold, 24 silver and 12 bronze medals. Sri Lanka finished third with 16 gold, 20 silver and 23 bronze medals, while Bangladesh finished fourth with three gold, seven silver and 14 bronze medals. Pakistan and Bhutan finished in the fifth and sixth position respectively.
