Nepali athletes and coaches have received the COVID-19 vaccine ©Nepal Olympic Committee

The Nepal Olympic Committee has vaccinated athletes and coaches who are set to compete or coach at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics against COVID-19, as well as many still hoping to qualify for the Games.

Athletes and coaches from karate, judo, shooting, athletics and boxing were vaccinated at Patan Hospital in Lalitpur, on the outskirts of the nation's capital Kathmandu. 

Archers and weightlifters - as well as their coaches - were also vaccinated in Pokhara.

Nepal's top Swimmers had previously received vaccinations.

Officials and staff of the Nepal Olympic Committee are also among those receiving the vaccine.

To date, there have been more than 275,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Nepal, resulting in the deaths of more than 3,000 people.

The COVID-19 vaccine will not be mandatory to compete at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics ©Getty Images
The COVID-19 vaccine will not be mandatory to compete at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics ©Getty Images

The Tokyo 2020 Olympics is scheduled to take place from July 23 to August 8, having been postponed from 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has stated that COVID-19 vaccines will not be mandatory for athletes and personnel at Tokyo 2020, although the the Chinese Olympic Committee has - through the IOC - offered to vaccinate delegations heading to Japan and next year the Beijing 2022 Winter Games.

Nepal is among the countries where the BBIBP-CorV vaccine, produced by Sinopharm in Beijing, has been approved for use.

Nepal is also yet to win an Olympic medal, but has sent athletes to 12 Summer Games in a row.