Afghan Athlete Makes Paralympics Debut After Secretly Evacuated From Taliban-controlled Kabul

Zakia Khudadadi (Photo: Paralympics.org)

JAKARTA - Afghan athlete Zakia Khudadadi made her Tokyo 2020 Paralympics debut on Thursday after being secretly evacuated to help her escape Taliban-controlled Kabul.

Launching Antara, Thursday, Khudadadi became the first female athlete from Afghanistan to appear in the Paralympics since Athens 2004. She competed in the women's K44 -49kg taekwondo sport.

The 22-year-old athlete and her compatriot, Hossain Rasouli, arrived in Tokyo on August 28 from Paris after Khudadadi made a video asking her to get out of Kabul to revive her dream of becoming the country's first female athlete at the Paralympics.

Khudadadi who competed at Makuhari Messe, Chiba wearing a white headscarf did not speak to reporters after suffering two defeats to Ukraine's Viktoriia Marchuk and Uzbekistan's Isakova Ziyodakhon.

"I'm worried about the situation in Afghanistan, but I'm happy that he managed to come to Tokyo and compete with me," Marchuk said after defeating Kudadadi in the repechage round.

Previously, another athlete from Afghanistan, Hossain Rasouli, also made his debut in the T47 long jump on 31 August. He was ranked last of the 13 participants who competed in that number.

However, it is not yet known what the Afghan athletes will do after making their debut at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics.

Human Rights For All activist Alison Battison, who was involved in the evacuation process, told Reuters that Australia had guaranteed humanitarian visas for the two Afghan athletes.

"Australia has given them visas but this has all been done in such an extraordinary rush that they need some breathing room to decide what is best for them," Battisson was quoted as saying by Kyodo.