Karate instructor and referee Parkhi Rai, who is in the United States, has become the first Nepali to get the third dan from the American Karate Federation.
He also became the first Nepali referee to play in the final of the USA National Karate Championship. Rai was on the referee panel for the 75kg gold medal at the recent Elite Purup Championships in Illinois, USA.
Although other Nepali coaches have played in the US Karate Championship before, Rai is the first Nepali to be in the referee panel for the final.
Gerard Smith and Thomas Scott competed for the men's 75kg gold medal. Scott is also an Olympian who has won the Athlete of the Year award in the United States.
Rai, a waiter from Solukhumbu, started playing karate only after coming to the United States. He is now a karate instructor, referee and owner of a karate school in the United States.
Parkhi Rai has became an internationally recognized karate referee from Pan America in 2019.
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