KATHMANDU: Nepal gave their first Paralympic medallist a hero’s welcome Wednesday as cheering crowds turned out for taekwondo star Palesha Goverdhan’s return home. Goverdhan, 21, took bronze at the 2024 Paralympics in Paris, the first Games podium place in history for the Himalayan nation who have also never won a medal at the Olympics.

"I kept my promise, I brought a medal back home. This achievement is not just for me, but for everyone,” Goverdhan said in a speech after her arrival. She said it had been a "long wait” for Nepal to win a medal.

"It was thought to be impossible... I believe that now young taekwondo players and other players can see it is possible,” she said. Traditional music and an army band played as Goverdhan, draped in the national flag, marigold garlands and traditional Buddhist scarves, emerged to loud cheers at Kathmandu’s airport.

Many young taekwondo athletes were among hundreds gathered to welcome back Goverdhan, who beamed a wide smile and held up her medal. "I am very happy, very inspired and proud for the country,” said 13-year-old taekwondo athlete Nandani Adhikari, who was among the crowds at the airport.

"Her victory feels like our own,” she said. Goverdhan, who is studying architectural engineering in China, won bronze in the women’s K44-57kg para taekwondo category when she beat Serbia’s Marija Micev 15-8. Born with a congenital limb deficiency on her left hand, Goverdhan took up martial arts at school when she was 10 years old.

‘So proud’

Her father Pradeep Goverdhan said her coach spotted her talent and suggested she train professionally. "She has made us so proud. As parents, you are worried when your child is born with a deficiency like that. But we always encouraged her,” he said.

"As a child, she was always very determined, worked hard and achieved anything if her heart was set on it.” Sugam Bhattarai, from Nepal’s National Federation of the Disabled, said he hoped the victory would help others achieve their goals.

"Her achievement has not only brought glory to Nepal but has also shined a spotlight on the potential of para athletes in a country where para sports have often been underfunded and overlooked,” he said. "I hope it will encourage investment in para sports. It is the same national flag, no matter who raises it,” he said. Goverdhan became the first Nepali athlete to win a medal at the Asian Para Games with a bronze in 2022. She won gold at the Asian Youth Para Games the year before. She also won the bronze medal in the 2018 Asian Para Taekwondo Championship in Vietnam.

Goverdhan finished fifth at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games and said in interviews before Paris she was "aiming for gold”. "I am filled with immense pride for having achieved this victory for our beloved nation,” Goverdhan said on social media.

"The countless hours of hard work and dedication have truly paid off, and the feeling is simply overwhelming.” — AFP