Pakistani national Shahida won the first gold medal of the 13th South Asian Games, defeating Nepali citizen Chanchala Danuwar in the final of women’s individual kata event of karate in Lalitpur, Nepal on Monday.
Humaira Akhter Antara of Bangladesh secured first medal for the country, a bronze, in the event, after narrowly missing out on the final.
She finished third in the first round comprising of five competitors.
“I am happy to win the first medal for the country. I would have been happier had I made it to the final, which I missed due to a small mistake. I will try to win a better medal tomorrow in kumite event,” Antara said after the event, according to media report.
Mentionable, Bangladesh later won bronze in women’s team kata.
Later, Hassan Khan Sun won a bronze medal men’s individual kata, finishing third among four competitors.
In the 2010 SA Games in Dhaka, Sun had won gold medal. But this time he could not perform good enough to match those of karatekas from Nepal and Pakistan.
Nepali citizen Manday Kaju Shreshtha won the gold while Pakistan’s Inamatullah got the silver medal.