Laxman Nepali: Turning Inclusion into Action on Nepal’s Tables
On World Table Tennis Day 2025, in Narayantar, Jorpati, Gokarneshwor Municipality in Kathmandu, something groundbreaking quietly took place. It was not a glittering arena or a high-budget spectacle. There were no professional film crews, no polished livestream, and no grand sponsorship banners. Instead, there were crowded tables, handmade score sheets, volunteers running between matches, and photos captured on mobile phones.
It was Nepal’s first open Inclusive Table Tennis Tournament, organised by Laxman Nepali in celebration of World Table Tennis Day 2025. The event welcomed everyone regardless of age, gender, and physical ability, and involved players of different ages, genders, and disabilities.
For Laxman, the Vice President of the National Physical Disabled Table Tennis Association Nepal (NPDTTAN) and a passionate World Table Tennis Day 2025 Promoter, this was not simply an event. It was a statement.
“Table tennis is never ‘just a game’ for persons with disabilities. It is a stage where dignity, strength, and opportunity can rise above limitation.”
A Vision Shaped by Lived Experience
Laxman speaks about table tennis differently. As a person with a disability himself, he understands that the barriers faced by disabled players are not only physical, but also social, psychological, and structural.
For him, table tennis is a tool to shift mindsets before changing results, a space where conversation happens naturally, a shared language played across the table, and a place where inclusion is not explained but experienced. He has seen how perceptions change before and after people play with a person with a disability. That transformation is at the heart of his mission.
Since March 2024, Laxman has been leading and organising inclusive and Para table tennis events across Nepal, gradually building momentum for a more integrated sporting culture. World Table Tennis Day 2025 gave him the platform and confidence to take a bolder step.
Designing an Event Where Everyone Enjoys the Sport Together
Laxman deliberately structured the Inclusive Table Tennis Tournament so that disabled players and able-bodied players played in the same draw, instead of in parallel categories. Transparency and fairness were ensured while the core idea, “different bodies, same competition,” was reinforced.
In total, 32 players joined the competition, including 14 players with disabilities (4 wheelchair users), 4 under-16 players, and 2 senior players. More than 85 people took part, including volunteers and support staff, mobilised around one inclusive vision.
Confronting Doubt Before the First Serve
However, real-life challenges existed. Despite offering meaningful cash prizes, many disabled players hesitated to register. Also, due to misunderstandings about what “inclusive” competition was like, the turnout was lower than what Laxman expected.
He explained: “Some feared they would be outmatched by able-bodied players. Others simply could not imagine a level playing field.”
Laxman saw this not as failure, but as evidence of why the event was necessary.
“The tournament was not only about winning matches. It was about challenging mental barriers that had existed far longer than any physical ones. The real challenge was not the game. It was belief.”
Moments that Captured the Spirit of the Day
Despite the challenges, during the tournament, small but powerful scenes shone throughout the day. It was seen that wheelchair players rallied with standing players, younger players learned from veterans, and disabled and able-bodied players shook hands, laughed, and analysed points together.
The most inspiring moment came when Swikrit Neupane, a disabled player, stepped forward to face able-bodied opponents with confidence and resilience. At the end of the tournament, Swikrit achieved 3rd place overall (the only Para player on the podium among all players) and was selected as Best Player of the Tournament.
His success became one of the most talked-about stories of the event and within Nepal’s table tennis community in the following days. For Laxman, this was also deeply personal. Seeing how a small amount of trust and support could transform a player’s trajectory became one of his proudest moments as an organiser.
Swikrit’s achievement did not stop at the national level. Later in 2025, he represented Nepal at the Asian Paralympic Games in Dubai, where he secured 2nd place. In Nepal, where many athletes feel they must leave to succeed, Swikrit’s journey showed what can happen when opportunity is created at home.
Support That Made the Vision Possible
Laxman believes that the event would not have happened without the World Table Tennis Day Promoters initiative and the backing of the ITTF Foundation. Reflecting on the journey, he expressed deep appreciation and hope: “Thank you for believing in this vision and trusting me with this initiative under World Table Tennis Day 2025. Together, we are helping make the world a more beautiful place through sport.”
Laxman is already looking ahead. With the hope of continuing to support and strengthen Nepal’s presence in international Para table tennis and open doors for more players like Swikrit, he plans to organise more inclusive tournaments, create video stories capturing players’ journeys, and continue to prove that change happens through experience, not lectures.
“There is no weakness in ability,” Laxman believes, as he keeps proving the tremendous impact and lasting legacy that inclusion, courage, and table tennis can bring.