Palesha Goverdhan wins historic Paralympic Bronze

Palesha Goverdhan has made history by securing a bronze medal in the women’s 57 kg K44 taekwondo event at the 2024 Paris Paralympics. She defeated Marija Micev of Serbia 15-8 in the bronze medal match, becoming the first Nepali athlete to win a Paralympic medal.

This achievement also marks Goverdhan as the first Nepali to earn an official Olympic medal. Nepal had previously not won a medal at the Summer Games, with only Bidhan Lama’s 1988 Seoul Olympics exhibition taekwondo bronze and Tejbir Bura’s 1924 Winter Olympics gold for alpinism being recognized unofficially.

The 21-year-old para taekwondo athlete, who competed in her second consecutive Paralympics, improved upon her near-miss at the Tokyo Paralympics, where she lost in the bronze medal match. Goverdhan, born without a palm, has shown remarkable progress since then, also becoming the first Nepali to win a medal at the Asian Para Games in 2022.

Goverdhan’s path to the bronze included a dominant 31-0 victory over Venezuela’s Valeria Morales in the round of 16, followed by a tight quarter-final loss to Silvana Fernandes of Brazil and a repechage win over Sophie Caverzan of France. Her success in Paris is a significant milestone for Nepalese sports, as no other Nepali athlete has matched her feat in the Paralympics.

Meanwhile, Nepali athlete Bharat Singh Mahata exited the Paris Paralympics after a loss in the men’s K44 under 58 kg taekwondo round of 16. Para swimmer Bhim Bahadur Kumal is set to compete in the men’s 50m freestyle heats on Monday.