The entire Afghanistan basked in pride after Taekwondo player Rohullah Nikpai on Wednesday defeated world champion spaniard Juan Antonio Ramos to win bronze, Afghanistan's first-ever Olympic medal.

"We're too happy, and even can't express in words how happy we are," Ghulam Jilani Gharob, a media officer of Afghan Olympic Committee, told Xinhua.

Gharob said this achievement will encourage more Afghans to support sports activities, especially Taekwondo, in the war- ravaged country.

"President Hamid Karzai telephoned Nikpai yesterday (August 20) to congratulate on his winning medal, saying the whole nation is proud of his victory," said Abdul Basir Ayoubi, a media officer at Afghan presidential palace.

Karzai has ordered authorities to award Nikpai a residential apartment, according to Ayoubi.

Outlook Afghanistan, an influential local English-language newspaper, in Thursday editorial titled "Bravo! Rohullah Nikpai" Thursday said the entire nation felt proud for the first Olympic medal in Afghan history, terming it "blasting information of glee."

"It is not only to boast the moral of the terrorism-hit people but also a following paradigm for the people of the country particularly youth to play their every single part in bringing honor to the country," the Outlook noted.

(Xinhua News Agency August 21, 2008)