Getting to Know Dorjee Yangkee
By Victor Gurung
Press Attaché | Team Bhutan
20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026
OKAZAKI, Japan | 1 Oct 2026
For Dorjee Yangkee, the journey to the Asian Games has been shaped not by one defining moment, but by the countless hours spent training, learning and pushing herself to become a better athlete. From the training halls of Bhutan to international competitions in the region, the 19-year-old from Paro has steadily built her experience and confidence, and tomorrow she will step onto one of the biggest stages of her young sporting career.
Representing Bhutan in Taekwondo at the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026, Yangkee will compete in the women’s -67kg category, becoming the only Bhutanese Taekwondo athlete in Team Bhutan at these Games. It is a significant moment for a young athlete whose journey has already taken her beyond Bhutan and into increasingly demanding international competition.
Her progress has been built through discipline and consistency. Training for around four hours a day under her coach, Master Lee Ju Sang of South Korea, Yangkee works through a demanding routine that includes physical conditioning, attack and defence drills, accuracy and scoring exercises, punches, kicks, spinning techniques and sparring. Each session is part of the preparation required to compete at a level where every movement, every decision and every point can make a difference.
That preparation has already given her valuable international experience. She has competed in Nepal and Mongolia and has continued to test herself against athletes from across the region. At the 4th Mt. Everest International Open Taekwondo Championships in Kathmandu earlier this year, she defeated Nepal’s Renu Lama 2–0 in the women’s -62kg quarterfinal. She has also claimed a bronze medal in Nepal and won gold at the Korean Cup Tournament, where she was recognised as the Best Female Player.
Away from the mat, Yangkee is also pursuing a Bachelor of Sports and Health Science at Royal Thimphu College. Balancing academic life with the demands of elite training has become another part of her development, with Taekwondo teaching her lessons that extend beyond competition, particularly discipline, commitment and time management.
Now, the focus turns to Aichi-Nagoya.
The Asian Games bring together athletes from across the continent, and for Yangkee, tomorrow’s competition will be another opportunity to measure her preparation against the best in Asia. There will be pressure, there will be expectation, but there is also the excitement that comes with finally seeing years of training translated onto the Asian Games mat.
“Tomorrow, I just want to step onto the mat with confidence, give everything I have trained for and fight for every point. I know the challenge will be tough, but I am ready to give my best and make Bhutan proud,” Yangkee said.
For a young athlete from Paro, the road to this moment has already been a journey of growth. Tomorrow, that journey enters a new chapter as Dorjee Yangkee steps onto the Asian Games mat carrying with her the experience she has earned, the preparation she has put in and the pride of representing Bhutan on the continental stage.
Aichi-Nagoya 2026
Taekwondo | Women’s -67kg
2 October 2026
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