Kathmandu : Palesha Goverdhan has won a historic bronze medal for Nepal at the Paris Paralympics 2024.

Competing in the women’s Taekwondo K-44 category, under 57 kg event, Palesha defeated Serbia’s Marija Micev with a score of 15-8 to secure the coveted bronze medal for herself and the country.

This achievement makes Palesha the first Nepali athlete to win a medal at the Paralympics. In her first-round match, she defeated Valeria Morales of Venezuela with a dominant 31-0 score, advancing to the quarterfinals.

However, she narrowly lost to Brazil’s Silvana Fernandes, 10-8, in the quarterfinals. Despite the loss, Palesha earned a chance to compete in the repechage round, where she defeated France’s Sefi Carvajal by 2-1, securing her place on the podium.

Palesha is also the first Nepali athlete to compete in the Paralympics after passing the qualifying rounds. Nepal began participating in the Paralympics at the 2004 Athens Paralympics.

Palesha started practicing Taekwondo at the age of 10 and joined the national para team in 2016. Since then, she has participated in and won medals in various international competitions.