Nepal (NEP)

The Nepalese National Olympic Committee was founded in 1962, and recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at the IOC session in Baden-Baden, on 17 October 1963. Nepal first competed at the Olympic Games in 1964. Since then, they have missed only the 1968 Olympics.

Nepal has yet to win an Olympic sports medal, but at least one Sherpa, Tejbir Bura was part of the British expedition that was awarded an Olympic gold medal in 1924 for their alpinism efforts. In 1988, Bidhan Lama also won third place in the finweight taekwondo demonstration sport, the best sporting performance by a Nepalese at the Olympic Games. The best sporting performances by Nepaleses in a medal event at the Olympic Games also came in taekwondo, after the sport was promoted; these were the seventh place results of taekwondokas Sangina Baidya (2004 women’s flyweight), Deepak Bista (2008 men’s welterweight), and Nisha Rawal (2016 women’s heavyweight).

This Himalayan country first competed at the Olympic Winter Games in 2002, in Salt Lake City, and reappeared in 2006, 2010, and 2014. There have only been two Nepalese Winter Olympians, both men competing in cross-country skiing. Jay Khadka competed in two events in 2002, while Dachhiri Sherpa competed in the 15 km events in 2006, 2010, and 2014.