Three years in the past, Zakia Khudadadi was hiding from the Taliban, coaching in secret in her again backyard at residence in Afghanistan. Right now, she is a bronze medalist and simply made historical past as the primary athlete from the Refugee Paralympic Crew to win a medal on the Paralympics.
On Thursday on the Grand Palais in Paris, the 25-year-old defeated Turkey’s Nurcihan Ekinci of their match to say bronze within the tae kwon do girls’s 47g class. After dropping within the quarterfinals, Khudadadi emerged victorious in her make-up match to say a spot on the rostrum when Morocco’s Naoual Laarif withdrew from the bronze medal competitors.
“It was a surreal second; my coronary heart began racing after I realized I had received the bronze,” Khudadadi advised AP Information. “I went via a lot to get right here. This medal is for all the ladies of Afghanistan and all of the refugees of the world. I hope that at some point there might be peace in my nation.”
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Khudadadi was born with out one forearm and started working towards tae kwon do in secret at a hidden fitness center in Herat, Afghanistan, when she was 11 years outdated.
Following the rise of the Taliban in 2021, Khudadadi was blocked from competing within the sport she loves. In response to CNN, she was unable to depart the nation at first and was compelled into hiding, persevering with to coach for the Paralympics in secret from her again backyard. In a second of desperation, Khudadadi launched a video plea that went viral. Ultimately, she was granted a spot on Spain’s evacuee checklist and airlifted to security by the Australian Air Power.
“I used to be advised that, if I stayed, the Taliban would come and take me as a result of I used to be a feminine athlete disobeying their guidelines,” she advised CNN. “I had just one selection—to depart.”
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