Their performance at the Beijing Olympics means they are unlikely to be long-term house guests.
Which is somewhat lucky for Joanna Lumley, who has invited the entire Nepalese Olympic team to stay with her when they compete in the 2012 London Games.
The Absolutely Fabulous actress, who was last week hailed as a ‘Goddess of Nepal’ for her part in the Gurkha Justice campaign, had arranged for the country’s squad of ten athletes to be based in Kent during the competition.
But the 63-year-old chose to issue a more personal invitation during her trip to Nepal last week, saying the team would be welcome at her London home.
The five-storey Georgian townhouse, which looks out on to a square, has enough space for around half a dozen guests.
However, Miss Lumley might struggle to accommodate the 24 coaches, sports officials and civil servants who accompany the team.
‘It was one of many lovely surprises during our trip and one I hope they will take up,’ she said yesterday. ‘It would be wonderful to have the Nepalese Olympic team stay with us in 2012.
‘They are such lovely people. I would even be prepared to let some of them stay with me.’
Nepal sent eight athletes to last year’s Beijing Games to compete in athletics, weightlifting, shooting, swimming and tae kwon do.
But while the Gurkhas may strike fear into their enemies’ hearts with their famous war cry ‘Ayo Gorkhali’ – ‘the Gurkhas are coming’ – other nations had little to fear from the Nepalese Olympians. None of the athletes won a medal or even ventured beyond the first round in their chosen sport.
Tae kwon do fighter Deepak Bista, who carried the country’s flag in the opening ceremony, could not build on the bronze medal he received at the 2006 Asian Games, crashing out in his first fight.
Meanwhile, Maya Kyapchaki came 46th out of 47 in the women’s 10m air rifle, while Arjun Kumar Basnet ranked 45th out of 98 in the men’s marathon. K.B. Adhikari, who competed in the men’s 69kg weightlifting event, was 22nd out of 24.
Nepal’s National Sports Council has an annual budget of just £1.5million, compared with the £600million that the British Olympic Association received in 2007 alone.
Last week, thousands of Nepalese gathered to catch a glimpse of Ms Lumley as she arrived in Nepal on a week-long trip.
The actress, who played a pivotal role in a campaign to allow retired members of the Gurkha regiment to be given British citizenship, was draped in garlands of flowers and silk scarves as she made her way through Kathmandu’s airport.
The trip came two weeks after a group of Gurkhas won a test case at the High Court. It led to a review of rules which state that those who retired from the British Army before 1997 did not have an automatic right to stay in the UK.
Ms Lumley, who was presented with scores of flowers as she left the country yesterday, made the trip along with fellow campaigner Peter Carroll.
Read more:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1203743/Joanna-Lumley-invites-Nepal-2012-Olympic-team-stay-house---dont-worry-There-10--does-storeys.html#ixzz0N2ngpJlM
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