A delegation representing

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

competed at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, Japan, from 24 August to 5 September 2021 which was postponed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. The Afghan delegation consisted of two athletes; Zakia Khudadadi in

taekwondo ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean martial arts, Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast k ...

and Hossain Rasouli in

para-athletics Para-athletics is the sport of athletics practised by people with a disability as a parasport. The athletics events within the parasport are mostly the same as those available to able-bodied people, with two major exceptions in wheelchair ra ...

. The former became Afghanistan's first female Paralympian. After the Fall of Kabul on 15 August 2021, Afghanistan's participation was left uncertain due to the

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, jihadist, and Pasht ...

takeover of the country, but its athletes were later successfully evacuated. The delegation used the national symbols of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the internationally recognized government which administered the country prior to the Taliban takeover.

Background

Afghanistan's participation was made uncertain by the

takeover of

following the Fall of Kabul on 15 August 2021. The organizers of the Paralympics initially announced that Afghanistan would be unable to compete. Afghanistan was represented in the Parade of Nations and the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (

UNHCR The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrat ...

) was invited to send a representative as a "sign of solidarity" despite the country's formal withdrawal. However the UNHCR declined to name a representative and a volunteer served as Afghanistan's flagbearer instead. On 28 August 2021, Zakia Khudadadi and Hossain Rasouli arrived in Tokyo after taking a flight en route from Kabul to Paris. It was also announced that Afghanistan would be able to compete in the Paralympics. The President of International Paralympic Committee, Andrew Parsons, revealed that both of the Afghan athletes would not be available for interviews and also insisted that permission has been granted to them to skip the usual press conferences.

Athletics

Para-athlete Hossain Rasouli was supposed to compete in the men's 100 metres T47 but arrived too late. He was entered in the men's long jump instead. Although he had competed in long jump before, the 2020 Paralympics marks the first time Rasouli took part in long jump in a major competition.

Taekwondo

References

{{NPCsin2020SummerParalympics Nations at the 2020 Summer Paralympics

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

2021 in Afghan sport