Rohullah Nikpai ( prs, روحالله نیکپا; born June 15, 1987) is an ethnic Hazara
taekwondo
''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast kicking techniques. T ...
practitioner and two-time
Olympic
Olympic or Olympics may refer to
Sports
Competitions
* Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896
** Summer Olympic Games
** Winter Olympic Games
* Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...
bronze medalist from
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
.
Career
Nikpai started his training in
Kabul
Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...
,
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
, at the age of 10. During the 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 films. He returned to Kabul in 2004 and continued his training at the government provided Olympic training facility. At the
2006 Asian Games
6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number.
In mathematics
Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...
in
Doha
Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the coun ...
,
Qatar
Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...
Nikpai competed in the
flyweight
Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing
Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing above 49 kg (108 lb) and up to 51 kg (112 lb).
Professional boxing
The flyweight division was the last of bo ...
division where he was defeated by eventual
silver medal
A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...
ist Nattapong Tewawetchapong of
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
in the round of 16.
Nikpai competed in the 58 kg category at the
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...
, defeating two-time world champion
Juan Antonio Ramos
Juan Antonio Ramos Sánchez (born 18 August 1976 in Barcelona) is a Spanish taekwondo practitioner.
He is a two-time world champion, winning the finweight title in 1997 and the flyweight title in 2007. He also competed for Spain at the ...
of
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
to win the
bronze medal
A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...
, 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
Hamid Karzai (; Pashto/ fa, حامد کرزی, , ; born 24 December 1957) is an Afghan statesman who served as the fourth president of Afghanistan from July 2002 to September 2014, including as the first elected president of the Islamic Repub ...
immediately called to congratulate Nikpai. Karzai 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.Athlete Biography of Rohullah Nikpai beijing2008.cn In the
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
, Rohullah entered the 68 kg category, where he was defeated by Iran's
Mohammad Bagheri Motamed
Mohammad Bagheri Motamed (Persian: محمد باقری معتمد, born January 24, 1986 in Ray, Iran) is a former Iranian professional taekwondo athlete. He won the gold medal in the featherweight division (-68 kg) at the 2009 World Taekwon ...
; he eventually won his bronze medal at the Olympic Games after defeating
Martin Stamper
Martin Stamper (born 21 August 1986) is a British former taekwondo athlete.
Early life
He was born in Liverpool, England.
Career
Stamper was a bronze medallist at the 2011 World Taekwondo Championships. He also competed in the ...