The taekwondo fighter Zakia Khudadadi has become the first-ever Refugee Paralympic Team medallist after winning bronze in Paris
ShareKhudadadi, who competed for Afghanistan at the Tokyo Games in 2021, won bronze in the women’s -47kg category. She defeated Turkey’s Ekinci Nurcihan in what was effectively a bronze medal match after the next scheduled opponent, Morocco’s Naoual Larrif, withdrew.When the final buzzer sounded at the Grand Palais, Khudadadi erupted in joy, throwing her helmet and mouthpiece into the air.
Khudadadi, who was born without one forearm, began practicing taekwondo in secret at the age of 11 in a hidden gym in her hometown of Herat, in western Afghanistan. After the competition, she settled in Paris and was later offered the opportunity to compete with the Refugee Team at the 2024 Paralympics, being held in her adopted home city. On Thursday, the Grand Palais crowd cheered her on as if she were one of their own.Since fleeing Afghanistan, Khudadadi has been training at Insep, France’s national institute of sport, in Paris with her French coach Haby Niare, who is a former taekwondo world champion.
“Zakia has been magical. I don’t know how else to put it,” Niare said, beaming with pride. “The training process has been challenging. She faced a lot of injuries and she had to learn a lot in a couple of years but she never lost sight of her goal.”“For the Refugee Paralympic Team, it’s super special, it’s super important,” Parsons said. “Zakia just showed to the world how good she is. It’s an incredible journey, it’s something that we should all learn about.
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