Hopes for Para athletes Zakia Khudadadi and Hossain Rasouli to compete in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games were seemingly dashed after Afghanistan’s sudden descent into chaos earlier this month following the Taliban’s takeover of the nation’s capital. After a harrowing journey evacuating Kabul, the two Afghan athletes have now arrived safely in Tokyo in time to compete for their respective competitions.
Tonight the IPC displays the Afghanistan flag at Tokyo 2020 in solidarity.#Paralympics #Tokyo2020 #OpeningCeremony pic.twitter.com/q3JVGh4M1d
— Paralympic Games (@Paralympics) August 24, 2021
Mere days ago, the odds of the two-person team taking part in the Games were virtually impossible. A week before the Games began, Khudadadi uploaded a desperate plea for help in getting out of Afghanistan to realise her Paralympic dream. During the Paralympics opening ceremony, however, the world watched with aching hearts as Afghanistan’s flag was carried by a Paralympic volunteer as an act of solidarity in the absence of the Para athletes who couldn’t make the journey.
Even when the athletes were finally extracted from Kabul along with their families, the International Paralympic Committee president, Andrew Parsons, made a statement saying that the athletes would not be competing in Tokyo 2020 due to the traumatic events they have had to endure.
Despite the circumstances, the athletes are evidently unflinching in their resolve to compete in this year’s Paralympic Games. 26-year-old Rasouli, a track athlete, will now appear in the T47 class of the men’s long jump final on the morning of August 31.
Meanwhile, 22-year-old Zakia Khudadadi will compete for gold in the K44 class of women’s taekwondo. Khudadadi is the first ever female athlete to represent Afghanistan in the Paralympic Games since the 2004 Paralympics in Athens.
Want to watch the competitions live? Here’s a schedule for the upcoming Paralympic events and where you can stream them for free online.
More on Tokyo 2020
Where to get official Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic merchandise in Tokyo
11 things to know about Japan at the Paralympics
How to watch the Tokyo Paralympics online for free
6 Paralympic fringe events you should check out in Tokyo
8 stunning Tokyo Paralympic monuments have popped up across the city
Want to be the first to know what’s cool in Tokyo? Sign up to our newsletter for the latest updates from Tokyo and Japan.