Daily Sports Digests

 

Zakia Khudadadi Makes History as First Paralympic Medalist for Refugee Team with Taekwondo Bronze

 On Thursday, Zakia Khudadadi etched her name in history by becoming the first athlete from the Refugee Paralympic Team to earn a medal at the Paralympics.

Khudadadi, who hails from Afghanistan but now trains in France, secured a bronze in the women’s K44 -47kg taekwondo category in Paris.

“This medal means so much to me, but it’s also a victory for all Afghan women and refugees,” she shared with reporters. “We are not giving up on the fight for equality and freedom in my country.”

Khudadadi faced Uzbekistan’s Ziyodakhon Isakova in the quarterfinals at the Grand Palais, where she lost but later rebounded by defeating Turkey’s Nurcihan Ekinci in the repechage match. Her bronze medal was confirmed when Morocco’s Naoual Laarif withdrew from the competition.

At 25, Khudadadi made her Paralympic debut in Tokyo three years ago after fleeing Kabul amidst the Taliban’s rise to power.

Trapped initially in Afghanistan, she was forced into hiding and continued to train for the Paralympics in her backyard. It wasn’t until a viral video plea that she was able to escape and pursue her athletic dreams.

“I was told that if I stayed, the Taliban would come for me because I was a female athlete defying their rules,” she told CNN Sport before the Paris Games. “I had no choice but to leave.”

Born without a forearm, Khudadadi began competing in Para sports at nine and became the first Afghan woman to compete in taekwondo at the Paralympics.

Now based in Paris, she joined the International Olympic Committee’s Athlete Refugee Team for the Paralympics, symbolizing the plight of displaced people worldwide.

Khudadadi hopes her medal will inspire Afghan women, who face severe restrictions under Taliban rule, to dream of a better future. “I want to dedicate this medal to the entire world,” she said. “I hope for a day when freedom and equality will be realized in my country and everywhere, for all girls, women, and refugees. We must all work towards that goal.”

Code: MEDAL563