Paris Olympics 2024: Nepal's Judoka Manita Shrestha Pradhan Faces Elimination

Manita Shrestha Pradhan, a Judo athlete from Nepal, has been eliminated in her first duel in the Paris Olympics. In the women's 57kg duel, Pradhan was defeated by Marica Perisic of Serbia via Ippon. She lasted for only one minute and two seconds on the mat. She is the fourth Nepalese athlete to be eliminated from the Olympics.

Nepal's Manita Shreshta Pradhan's life

She made her debut at the 2018 Asian Championships in Tashkent. Pradhan has won many accolades with a silver medal in the world championship. 

Born on June 1, 1999 in Panchthar, Pradhan is a Nepalese Judoka. As a child, she stayed at Prisoners Aid Misson in Kathmandu where Surya Narayan Shrestha, a former Judo medalist, voluntarily coached judo candidates. She started judo in 2009. She is the first-time Olympian in the Paris Olympics.

Her past accolades

Earlier, she won a silver medal in the 57kg category in the South Asian Games in 2016 held in Shillong. She won a bronze medal in the below 57kg women's category in the 11th Asian Cadet and 18th Juniors Asian Judo Championships in Bishkek and Kyrgyzstan. 

Pradhan is the first Nepalese woman judoka to win a duel in the 2017 Asian Judo Championship held in Hong Kong. In 2018, she participated in the Asian Games held in Indonesia. In 2019, her feats led to her selection in the World Judo Championship in Tokyo. She also competed in the 2023 Asian Games Championships where she finished 7th. 

Pradhan received a two-year scholarship from the Nepalese Olympic Committee in 2022 because of her good performance in the Grand Slam in 2022.

Her Olympics dreams

Pradhan, who made her debut at the Paris Olympics this year, said, “For some time, I couldn’t believe it. As the call came unexpectedly, I was shocked.” She further added, “Without the guidance and support from my gurus, I wouldn’t have made it to the Olympics." Pradhan is the sixth Nepalese judoka to compete in the Olympics. 

Nepal made its debut in judo in 1988 with Ganga Bahadur Dangol and Rishiram Pradhan at the Seoul Summer Olympics. Since then, judokas Devu Thapa (Beijing 2008), Fhupu Lhamu Khatri (Rio 2016) and Sonia Bhatt (Tokyo 2020) have represented Nepal at the Olympics, reports Kathmandu Post.