Taekwondoka Rohullah Nikpai came for a gold medal but a bronze was enough to fill his eyes with tears, as he won the first medal at the London Olympic Games for his country Afghanistan.
Nikpai has already made history as he gave Afghanistan its first ever Olympic medal in Beijing 2008, also a bronze in the men's 58 kg, reports Xinhua.
"It's the second consecutive time that I've won the bronze medal at the Olympics. I'm very happy because this medal is very important to my country. I had hoped it would be a gold," said the 25-year-old.
"Getting a medal is very important to all the countries in the world, but especially for Afghanistan. I love Afghanistan," he added.
"I have to thank everyone who supported me but, from the bottom of my heart, I would especially like to thank all the Afghan refugees who came here to support me. It means a lot to me, and I'm very happy for that and for the bronze medal," he said.
Nikpai was raised in an Iranian refugee camp after his family fled the violence in Kabul. He took up taekwondo at age 10 while still in exile and returned to the Afghan capital in 2004.
Since returning from the Beijing Olympics, he has started his own engineering company.
Until Beijing, Afghanistan had taken part in 12 Olympic Games since their first appearance at Berlin 1936, but had never had a medal winner.
Olympics: Afghan taekwondoka gives country first medal in London
KABUL: Afghanistan’s first medallist in the London Olympics received a personal phone call of congratulation from the war-torn country’s president Friday.
Rohullah Nikpah took a taekwondo bronze medal, repeating his performance in the 2008 Beijing Games when he became the nation’s first-ever Olympic medal winner.
President Hamid Karzai called Afghanistan’s team in London Friday to congratulate Nikpah and all the Afghan athletes, his office said.
“Afghan athletes have shown in recent years that they don’t have less talent than the athletes of other countries and with hard work and effort they can hoist the flag of Afghanistan in the international sports arena,” Karzai’s office said.
Nikpah’s victory was greeted with jubilation in a country ravaged by war for three decades, setting social media sites alight with pride.
Another Afghan Taekwondo hope, Nesar Ahmad Bahawi, began his quest for a medal Friday with a victory in his first bout.
Thanks to Nikpah and Bahawi, taekwondo has become one of the most popular sports in Afghanistan.
Around 25,000 competitors practise in hundreds of clubs around the country, and events with the Afghan fighters in London were shown live on several TV channels.
Before the 2008 Games, the country’s previous best Olympic finish was a fifth place in wrestling in 1964.
NATO has some 130,000 troops in Afghanistan helping Karzai’s government fight a Taliban Islamist insurgency.
Afghan president congratulates Olympic medallis
Nikpai has already made history as he gave Afghanistan its first ever Olympic medal in Beijing 2008, also a bronze in the men's 58 kg, reports Xinhua.
"It's the second consecutive time that I've won the bronze medal at the Olympics. I'm very happy because this medal is very important to my country. I had hoped it would be a gold," said the 25-year-old.
"Getting a medal is very important to all the countries in the world, but especially for Afghanistan. I love Afghanistan," he added.
"I have to thank everyone who supported me but, from the bottom of my heart, I would especially like to thank all the Afghan refugees who came here to support me. It means a lot to me, and I'm very happy for that and for the bronze medal," he said.
Nikpai was raised in an Iranian refugee camp after his family fled the violence in Kabul. He took up taekwondo at age 10 while still in exile and returned to the Afghan capital in 2004.
Since returning from the Beijing Olympics, he has started his own engineering company.
Until Beijing, Afghanistan had taken part in 12 Olympic Games since their first appearance at Berlin 1936, but had never had a medal winner.
Olympics: Afghan taekwondoka gives country first medal in London
KABUL: Afghanistan’s first medallist in the London Olympics received a personal phone call of congratulation from the war-torn country’s president Friday.
Rohullah Nikpah took a taekwondo bronze medal, repeating his performance in the 2008 Beijing Games when he became the nation’s first-ever Olympic medal winner.
President Hamid Karzai called Afghanistan’s team in London Friday to congratulate Nikpah and all the Afghan athletes, his office said.
“Afghan athletes have shown in recent years that they don’t have less talent than the athletes of other countries and with hard work and effort they can hoist the flag of Afghanistan in the international sports arena,” Karzai’s office said.
Nikpah’s victory was greeted with jubilation in a country ravaged by war for three decades, setting social media sites alight with pride.
Another Afghan Taekwondo hope, Nesar Ahmad Bahawi, began his quest for a medal Friday with a victory in his first bout.
Thanks to Nikpah and Bahawi, taekwondo has become one of the most popular sports in Afghanistan.
Around 25,000 competitors practise in hundreds of clubs around the country, and events with the Afghan fighters in London were shown live on several TV channels.
Before the 2008 Games, the country’s previous best Olympic finish was a fifth place in wrestling in 1964.
NATO has some 130,000 troops in Afghanistan helping Karzai’s government fight a Taliban Islamist insurgency.
Afghan president congratulates Olympic medallis
