Jayaram "Jay" Khadka () (born October 5, 1972 in

Bansbari Bansbari () is a village in Sindhupalchok District in the Bagmati Zone of central Nepal. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census The 1991 Nepal census was a widespread national census conducted by the Nepal Central Bureau of Statistics. Working wit ...

) is a Nepalese cross-country skier, who became the first Winter Olympic Athlete from

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

. He participated in the

2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 (; Gosiute dialect, Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; ; Shoshoni language, Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), were an international wi ...

. In the Men's 1.5 km Qualification his time was 4:48.4 making him 70th place. Khadka was born in Nepal, of the

Chhetri Chhetri (Kshetri, Kshettri, Kshetry or Chhettri), ( ; IAST: ''Kṣetrī'') historically called Kshettriya or Kshetriya or Khas are Nepali language, Nepali speaking people historically associated with the warrior class and administration, some of ...

caste A caste is a Essentialism, fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (en ...

. His father, a former policeman, had provided help to Richard Morley a British entrepreneur who fell ill while traveling in that country in 1984, traveling a distance that normally takes six days in three. After recovering, Morley asked the older Khadka how he could thank him; here Morley learned the other man was seriously ill, who asked Morley to take care of his son Jayaram should anything happen to him. They exchanged photos, and Morely returned to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Morley was unable to return to Nepal until five or six years later, at which time he learned the ex-policeman had died and Jayaram had moved to

Bhaktapur Bhaktapur (Nepali language, Nepali and Sanskrit: भक्तपुर, ; "City of Devotees"), known locally as Khwopa (Nepal Bhasa: , ) and historically called Bhadgaon, is a city in the east corner of the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal located abou ...

. While dining at a restaurant in that city he was approached by a boy sweeping the establishment's floor, who asked Morley, "Are you the man who has come to rescue me?"Phil Sweeney
How We Met; Richard Morley and Jayram Khadka
''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', published 24 May 1997 After a second meeting, Morley decided to offer Jayaram to come live with him at his castle in the

Forest of Dean The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the Counties of England, county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangle, triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and no ...

. He accepted, and accompanied Morley to England December 1990.Dates taken fro
"The remarkable story of Nepal’s Olympic trailblazer Jayaram Khadka"
Olympic Games website, published 7 November 2017 In Britain, Jayaram experienced

culture shock Culture shock is an experience a person may have when one moves to a cultural environment which is different from one's own; it is also the personal disorientation a person may feel when experiencing an unfamiliar way of life due to immigration ...

. As he explains, "Landing at Gatwick was like being picked up and put on Mars -- a hi-tech, completely different planet. There were things like escalators, automatic doors, strange food -- ham, red wine. I tried it and was almost sick, like drinking paraffin." Morley had originally planned to host Jayaram for six months, but immediately changed this to three years, and eventually fought the Home Office to obtain residential status for the boy. As an experienced skier, Morley recognized his foster son was very athletic. Taking him to the French Alps, he encouraged him to take up skiing and began coaching him. At the same time Morley had founded the Nepalese Ski Association and started planning Jay’s bid to qualify for the Olympic Winter Games. When injuries prevented him from competing in Alpine skiing events, he decided to compete in cross-country in the 2002 Winter Olympics. Jayaram Khadka carried his country's flag in their first appearance at the Winter Olympics, and afterwards finished 79th in the 10 kilometer pursuit and 69th in the sprint.

References

External links

* *FIS Result

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khadka, Jayaram 1972 births Living people Nepalese male cross-country skiers Alpine skiers at the 2003 Asian Winter Games Nepalese male alpine skiers Olympic cross-country skiers for Nepal Cross-country skiers at the 2002 Winter Olympics People from Sindhupalchowk District Sportspeople from Bagmati Province