Thousands of jubilant Afghans packed the national stadium to give the nation's first Olympic medal winner Rohullah Nikpai a hero's welcome yesterday. Nikpai won a taekwondo bronze medal in Beijing. President Hamid Karzai rang up Nikpai to congratulate him and has ordered a house to be presented to him as a reward. The head of a local welfare organisation had promised rewards for Afghan medal winners, with $10,000 for the bronze. Afghanistan's previous best Olympics effort was a fifth place in wrestling at the 1964 Tokyo Games.

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