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 borde ...

first competed at the

Paralympic Games The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaired ...

during the

1996 Summer Paralympics The 1996 Paralympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, were held from August 16 to 25. It was the first Paralympics to get mass media sponsorship, and had a budget of USD $81 million. It was the first Paralympic Games where Internatio ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

, where it was represented by cyclists Gul Afzal and Zabet Khan.Afghanistan at the Paralympics
website of the

International Paralympic Committee The International Paralympic Committee (IPC; german: Internationales Paralympisches Komitee) is an international non-profit organisation and the global governing body for the Paralympic Movement. The IPC organizes the Paralympic Games and func ...

History

Afghanistan did not participate in the Sydney Paralympics in 2000, having been banned from the Games due to its treatment of women under

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

rule. Two athletes represented Afghanistan in Athens in 2004: female sprinter

Mareena Karim Mareena Karim (Dari: مارنا کریم), born in 1989 or 1990, is an Afghan track and field athlete. As a baby, she was left too close to a stove and suffered severe burns to both feet, which were subsequently amputated. As an athlete, she ther ...

and male cyclist Qaher Hazrat. Neither won a medal. Afghanistan competed at the

2008 Summer Paralympics The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games (), the 13th Summer Paralympic Games, took place in Beijing, China from September 6 to 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao. It was f ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...

, where it was represented solely by

powerlifter Powerlifting is a strength sport that consists of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts: squat, bench press, and deadlift. As in the sport of Olympic weightlifting, it involves the athlete attempting a maximal weight single-lift effor ...

Mohammad Fahim Rahimi. Mohammad Fahim Rahimi returned to

powerlifting Powerlifting is a strength sport that consists of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts: squat, bench press, and deadlift. As in the sport of Olympic weightlifting, it involves the athlete attempting a maximal weight single-lift effo ...

at the

2012 Summer Paralympics The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Summer Paralympic Ga ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. Again, Rahimi was the sole athlete. Afghanistan sent one athlete again to

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

for the

2016 Summer Paralympics The 2016 Summer Paralympics (), the 15th Summer Paralympic Games, were a major international multi-sport event for disabled sports, athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, fro ...

, Mohammad Durani. He competed in the men's javelin throw. He finished with a personal best of 26.51 meters, but that put him into last place, and thus not allowed to proceed to the final three throws. However, on 19 September 2016, it was revealed he had tested positive for 19-Norandrosterone, a substance the

World Anti-Doping Agency The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA; french: Agence mondiale antidopage, AMA) is a foundation initiated by the International Olympic Committee based in Canada to promote, coordinate, and monitor the fight against drugs in sports. The agency's key ...

classifies under its list of " Endogenous Anabolic Androgenic Steroids" and is banned in both in-competition and out-of-competition testing. Therefore, Durani was disqualified and his result annulled. Afghanistan was due to compete in the

2020 Summer Paralympics The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, was an international multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the International Paraly ...

with taekwondo athlete Zakia Khudadadi and track athlete Hossain Rasouli as representatives. However, Afghanistan was forced to withdraw following the Fall of Kabul to the

. Khudaddi was to be the first female Afghan Paralympian since 2004. On 28 August 2021, Zakia Khudadadi and Hossain Rasouli arrived in Tokyo after taking a flight en route from Kabul to Paris and it also ended the uncertainties which prevailed regarding Afghanistan's participation at the Tokyo 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. Afghanistan status unclear for the future participation since brought under the political turmoil. Afghanistan has never won a Paralympic medal, and has never participated in the

Winter Paralympic Games The Winter Paralympic Games is an international multi-sport event where athletes with physical disabilities compete in snow and ice sports. The event includes athletes with mobility impairments, amputations, blindness, and cerebral palsy. ...

Medal tables

Medals by Summer Games

has competed at five

Summer Paralympic Games The Summer Paralympics also known as the Games of the Paralympiad, are an international multi-sport event where athletes with physical disabilities compete. This includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and cerebra ...

. Afghanistan has only missed out

Sydney 2000 The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

since its debut, due to its banning by the IOC.

Medals by Winter Games

is yet to participate at the

Winter Paralympics The Winter Paralympic Games is an international multi-sport event where athletes with physical disabilities compete in snow and ice sports. The event includes athletes with mobility impairments, amputations, blindness, and cerebral palsy. The ...

References

{{National sports teams of Afghanistan

History

Medal tables

Medals by Summer Games

Medals by Winter Games

See also

References