At the 20th Asian Games, Nepalese karateka Tenzing Sherpa won the country’s first medal in karate. Competing in the kumite event for the over 84 kg weight category in Nagoya, Japan, Sherpa defeated a competitor from Laos by a commanding 9-1 score to claim the bronze medal. He had previously been defeated by an Iranian athlete in the semifinals.
Despite several anticipated medal contenders in karate being eliminated earlier, the final competitions took place on Wednesday morning. Tenzing Sherpa advanced by narrowly defeating Macau’s Leon On Tak 1-0 in the quarterfinals. However, he was stopped in the semifinals by Iran’s Mahmoud Nemati, who won 5-0. Sherpa then secured the bronze medal through the repechage round by convincingly defeating Laos’ Vatthana Jaysane 9-1.
Following his victory, Sherpa expressed delight at opening Nepal’s medal tally. A regular member of the Nepal national karate team, Sherpa had previously won the gold medal in the over 84 kg weight division at the 10th South Asian Karate Championship held in Sri Lanka last year. Nepal has fielded 135 athletes across 21 sports at the Games, but most of the competitors have already been eliminated. Nonetheless, the women’s kabaddi team still retains a possibility of winning a medal.
Much hope was placed on karate silver medalist from the previous Asian Games, Erica Gurung, but she remained medalless this time. Although three karate athletes reached the semifinals, none secured a medal. This has raised concerns over Nepal potentially ending the Games without any medals. Since the 1986 Asian Games, Nepal has consistently earned medals. In preparation for the Games, Nepal launched an ambitious program called ‘Mission 2026’ three years ago, focusing on regular training and development of athletes.
