Rohullah Nikpai
Rohullah
Nikpai was (born June 15, 1987) is an Afghan taekwondo practitioner
and two-time Olympic bronze
medalist. He is an ethnic Hazara.
Career
Nikpai
started his training in Kabul, Afghanistan, at the age of
10 During the bloody civil war over the capital city, his family left the
city and settled in one of Iran's many Afghan refugee camps. He soon became a
member of the Afghan refugee Taekwondo team after watching martial arts movies.
He returned to Kabul in 2004 and continued his training at the government
provided Olympic training facility. At the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, Qatar Nikpai competed in the flyweight division
where he was defeated by eventual silver medalist Natta pong Tewawetchapong of Thailand in round 16.
Nikpai
competed in the 58 kg category at
the 2008
Summer Olympics, defeating two-time world champion Juan
Antonio Ramos of Spain to win the bronze medal, making him
Afghanistan's first Olympic medalist in any event. He became a national hero,
returning to Afghanistan and getting off the plane to be met with a crowd of
many thousands. Afghanistan president Hamid Karzai immediately
called to congratulate Nikpai. He also awarded him a house, car, and other
luxuries at the government’s expense I hope this will send a message of peace to
my country after 30 years of war," Nikpai said In the 2012
Summer Olympics, Rohullah entered the 68 kg category, where
he was beaten by Iran's Mohammad
Bagheri Motamed; he eventually won his bronze medal at the Olympic
Games after defeating Martin Stamper of
Great Britain.
No comments:
Post a Comment