Palesha grabs bronze at 10th Asian Para Taekwondo C'ship

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Aug. 2: Nepal's taekwondo star Palesha Goverdhan earned a bronze medal at the 10th Asian Para Taekwondo Championship (G4), held in Kuching, Malaysia on Friday  

Goverdhan, Nepal’s first-ever Paralympic medalist, advanced to the semi-final of the women’s K-44 under-57kg category after defeating Uzbekistan’s Juraeva Kamola in a commanding 23–6 victory. 

She swept the bout with scores of 10–6 in the first round and 13–0 in the second.

In the semi-final, she faced China’s formidable Li Yujie, the gold medalist from the Paris Paralympics 2024.

Li displayed technical dominance, securing the match with scores of 4–0 and 10–0 to move into the final, where she ultimately claimed the championship title.

Goverdhan’s bronze marks the fifth international medal in her career, adding to her golds from the Youth Asian Games and Asian Paralympic Qualifiers, and bronzes from the Paris Paralympics 2024, Asian Para Games 2022, and Asian Para Taekwondo Championship 2018.

Notably, Goverdhan and Li Yujie shared bronze at the 2022 Asian Para Games, and their rivalry dates back to the Tokyo Paralympics, where Goverdhan narrowly missed a medal after losing to Li in the bronze bout.

Nepal’s para taekwondo campaign was spearheaded by coach Kabiraj Negi Lama, whose leadership has now guided the nation to 12 international medals — comprising three golds, two silvers, and seven bronzes.

Other Nepalese athletes—Bharat Singh Mahata, Amir Bhlon, Kamana Prasai, and Renu Tamang—were eliminated in the opening rounds. 

Mahata lost to Kazakhstan’s Gibratzhan with a score of 19–10 in U-58Kg, while Bhlon was edged out by Chien Chiang Chen of Chinese Taipei in the third round (17–22) in U-63kg category. 

In the women's draw, Prasai fell to Uzbekistan’s Kizla Isomiddinova (0–25) in U-47kg and Tamang was defeated by India’s Laxmi Radaratti (43–53) in U-47kg.