Nepal gave a hero’s welcome to its first Paralympic medalist as cheering crowds turned out for the homecoming of taekwondo player Palesha Govardhan from Paris.
“I kept my promise, I brought the medal back home. This achievement is not just for me, but for everyone,” 21-year-old Govardhan, who won bronze at the 2024 Paralympic Games, said in a speech after his arrival on Wednesday.
It was the first podium finish at the Paralympics for the Himalayan nation, which has never won a medal at the Olympics.
Govardhan said it was a “long wait” for Nepal to win a medal.
“It was considered impossible … I believe now young taekwondo players and other players can see that it is possible,” she said.
Traditional music and an army band played as the Govardhana – draped in the national flag, garlanded with marigolds and traditional Buddhist scarves – emerged at Kathmandu’s airport to loud cheers.
Govardhan, who is studying architectural engineering in China, won the bronze in the women’s K44-57kg para taekwondo category defeating Serbia’s Marija Maisev 15-8.
Born with a congenital limb defect on his left arm, Govardhan studied martial arts at school when he was 10 years old.
His father Pradeep Govardhan said his coach saw his talent and suggested him to train professionally.
Sugam Bhattarai of Nepal’s National Federation of Disabled said he hoped the win would help others achieve their goals.
“Her achievement has not only made Nepal proud but also highlighted the potential of para-athletes in a country where para-sports has often been underfunded and neglected,” he said.
“I hope it will encourage investment in para-sports. It is the same national flag, no matter who hoists it,” he said.
Govardhan became the first Nepalese athlete to win a medal at the 2022 Asian Para Games with a bronze. He had won gold in the Asian Youth Para Games a year earlier.
He also won a bronze medal at the 2018 Asian Para Taekwondo Championships in Vietnam.
Govardhan finished fifth at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games and said in an interview before Paris that she was “aiming for gold”.
“I am filled with great pride to achieve this victory for our beloved nation,” Govardhan said on social media.
“Countless hours of hard work and dedication have really paid off, and the feeling is just overwhelming.”
Post Nepal’s first Paralympic medalist returns home to a hero’s welcome appeared first Al Jazeera.