Hossain Rasouli became the first athlete representing Afghanistan to take part in the Tokyo Paralympics, a feat that looked impossible when it appeared the country’s team would be unable to travel safely to Japan to be part of the world’s largest sporting event for people with disabilities, which started a week ago.
They have started living in the athletes’ village and preparing for their competitions, the IPC said in a statement late Saturday…
“Zakia and Hossain are now in Tokyo to fulfill their dreams, sending out a strong message of hope to many others around the world,” IPC President Andrew Parsons said in the statement after meeting with them at the village…”The meeting was extremely emotional. There were lots of tears from everyone in the room. It really was a remarkable meeting,” IPC spokesman Craig Spence told a press briefing on Sunday.
The two athletes will compete in taekwondo and athletics. The Afghanistan Paralympic Team, represented by Zakia Khudadadi and Hossain Rasouli, arrived in the Japanese capital on Saturday (28 August) ready to compete at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.
Afghanistan’s two Paralympic athletes have been safely evacuated from the country, the International Paralympic Committee said Wednesday, declining to specify their destination. The two taekwondo athletes, Zakia Khudadadi and Hossain Rasouli, were originally due to represent their country at the Tokyo Paralympics.
d a press conference that “it’s important to highlight” that having the flag at the ceremony on Tuesday night will also be a message of “peace” to the rest of the world, given that Afghan athletes are unable to compete after the Taliban seized control of the country.
Barrier Free Japan