Nepali taekwondo player Palesha Govardhan has won her first match at the Paris Paralympics 2024. Palesha secured victory in the women’s under-57 kg weight category in the K-44 event, defeating Venezuela’s Morales Valeria on Friday.

In the round of 16 match held at the Grand Palais in Paris, Palesha defeated Valeria with a score of 31-0, earning most of her points from body kicks.

Having previously competed in the Tokyo Paralympics, Palesha is also the bronze medalist from the Hangzhou Asian Games. Her bronze was Nepal’s first-ever medal in the Para Asian Games.

Earlier in March, she secured her spot at the Paris Paralympics by winning a gold medal at the Asian Olympic Qualifiers held in China.

Palesha will now face Brazil’s Cardoso Fernandes in the quarterfinals later today. Fernandes, a bronze medalist at the Tokyo Paralympics, has won gold twice at the World Championships and advanced directly to the quarterfinals with a bye.

Earlier, Bharat Singh Mahata, another taekwondo athlete, was eliminated after losing to a Japanese competitor.