From Kantipuronline.com === High drama at TIA before Nepalese athletes� departure By Ujjwal / Purushottam / Devendra KATHMANDU, Aug 10 - It appears that controversy never leaves Nepalese sports. Few months ago, there was uncertainty over Nepal�s participation in the Summer Olympics in the Greek capital Athens due to infighting among sports officials over Nepal Olympic Committee. And today, Nepalese athletes almost did not fly out of Kathmandu because of bad management. Happiness and optimism of a few Nepalese athletes, leaving for Athens Tuesday evening, turned into tears and humiliation. There were no officials to see them off or pay their airport taxes. �No officials are here, we have no Nepali rupees to pay airport tax,� swimmer Nayana Shakya said with tears flowing down her cheeks. �We were asked to reach here by four, but no one is here until now, and it�s already 5:10pm.� The Gulf Air flight was scheduled to take off at 6:15pm. �We don�t know where to go and what to do,� athlete Rajendra Bhandari added. �We are stranded here.� It also appeared that the two factions of the merged NOC had not coordinated their plans. When NOC vice-president Dhurba Bahadur Pradhan waltzed in at the airport, he said it was the responsibility of the National Sports Council to have made the arrangements for the athletes. A team official Upendra Bhattarai, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Sports and Education, too only received his accreditation card, which works as visa, at 5:05pm. When he had called up Member Secretary of the National Sports Council Kishore Bahadur Singh to enquire about his accreditation card, Singh said he too was looking for his own card. NOC president Rukma Shamsher Rana, arrived at the airport at 5:25pm to bid farewell to the team and expressed his indifference towards all the issues. �I don�t know� was what he said twice to answer a flurry of questions After all the drama, Nepalese athletes finally did leave for Athens. With such dispute and mismanagement, performance of Nepalese athletes is likely to be affected. (rk)