Palesha Goverdhan won a bronze medal for Nepal at the 10th Asian Para Taekwondo Championships in Kuching, Malaysia, on Friday.

Alongside Goverdhan, four other Nepali para-taekwondoins—Bharat Singh Mahata, Amir Bhlon, Kaman Prasai and Renu Tamang—had participated in the event.

Goverdhan—who was competing at the K44 -57kg category, which had seven fighters in total—defeated Uzbekistan’s Kamola Juraeva 10-6 and 13-0 in the first game to progress to the semi-final stage.

Goverdhan settled for a bronze after losing out 0-4 and 0-10 to China’s Yujie Li, who did not have a contender in the first stage.

Speaking to the Post over the phone, coach Kabiraj Negi Lama said he was proud of Goverdhan. “With the bronze, her international medal tally has now reached five,” Lama said. “And she helped my international tally reach a dozen.”

Lama, who also coached Goverdhan when she won Nepal’s first Paralympic medal in Paris last year, stressed that the medal in Malaysia boosted the morale of the overall squad.

Among other Nepali para-taekwondoins participating in the championship, Mahata, who was competing in the K44 -58kg category, which had 15 contestants, lost to Kazakhstan’s Bakberg Gibratzhan 0-12 and 7-10 in the first round.

Bhlon, who was in the K44 -63kg category consisting of 17 contestants, lost in the first round against Chinese Taipei’s Chien Chiang Chen. Bhlon lost the first round 6-8, but made a comeback in the second round with a 5-4 win before losing the third round 6-10.

“Mahata and Bhlon fought really well,” said Lama, who has been working as a volunteer coach in Nepal’s para-taekwondo.

Prasai and Tamang, who were making their international debut, also lost their respective first fights.

The duo was placed in the same category, K44 -47kg. Prasai lost by 0-12 and 0-13 to Uzbekistan’s Kizla Isomiddinova; while Tamang won the first round against India’s Laxmi Radaratti 12-6, but lost the other two rounds by 19-23 and 12-24.

“It was Prasai and Tamang’s first international game,” Lama said. “They did not win, but the fight they put on deserves praise. Tamang would have won if she had endured a little more.”

According to Lama, the squad will return to Nepal on August 3 and will begin their training for the 11th World Para Taekwondo Championships, a G14 event scheduled for November.

Lama said that the event had a lot of takeaways for his athletes and fans back home should look beyond the binary of win and loss.

“Back home, everyone expects medals,” he said. “But we should not overlook the determination shown by the players.”