Delegates gather at the Sports Congress in Nepal ©Nepalese Olympic Committee

A special Sports Congress has taken place under the stewardship of the Nepal Olympic Committee in order to "develop a synergy of sports development" in the Asian nation.

The two-day event in Kathmandu was held for the first time in six years and also enjoyed participation from varying levels of the Nepalese Government.

It received funding and technical support from the International Olympic Committee and Olympic Council of Asia.

More than 150 delegates participated, including Nepal Olympic Committee President Jeevan Shrestha. 

He admitted that "instability" and "poor infrastructure" has limited the progress of sport in the country in recent times.

"The sports sector of Nepal is becoming very much unstable," he said.

"The physical infrastructures are in poor condition. 

"This is the reason that the standard of sports has not developed.

"Therefore, this Congress is being organised to self-evaluate our weaknesses and to seek solutions."

Delegates at the Nepalese Sports Congress discussed various issues relating to development and progress in the country ©Nepalese Olympic Committee
Delegates at the Nepalese Sports Congress discussed various issues relating to development and progress in the country ©Nepalese Olympic Committee

Discussions focused on partnerships between sport and political bodies as well as other topics such as marketing, gender equality and sports psychology.

It comes as Nepal prepares to host the South Asian Games (SAG) in 2019.

"Our target is to successfully host the 13th SAG with improved performance," Shrestha added.

"In the due course of time, we want to improve our level and aim for a historic success in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics."

Nepal has never won an Olympic medal but sent a seven-strong team to Rio 2016, participating in the sports of archery, athletics, judo, swimming and taekwondo.