Afghanistan’s Zakia Khudadadi created history by becoming the first athlete to win a medal for the Refugee Paralympic Team at the Paris Paralympics. Zakia won the bronze medal in the women’s 47kg category in Taekwondo on Thursday by defeating Turkey’s Ekinci Nursihan. After the match ended at the Grand Palais in Paris, Zakia jumped with joy and celebrated by throwing her helmet in the air.
Zakia became emotional while talking to the media after this victory. She said, “This is an unbelievable moment, when I realized that I have won the bronze medal, my heart started beating fast.” She said, “I had to go through a lot to reach here. This medal is for all the women of Afghanistan and all the refugees of the world. I hope that one day there will be peace in my country.” Zakia was born without an arm.
She began practicing taekwondo at the age of 11 in a secret gym in her hometown of Herat in western Afghanistan. Women were barred from participating in sports after the rise of the Taliban in the country in 2021. She somehow managed to escape from Afghanistan and was allowed to compete at the Tokyo Olympics for her country after a plea from the international community.
After the Tokyo Games, she settled in Paris, where she got a chance to compete with the refugee team at the Paris 2024 Paralympics. Zakia said, “This medal means everything to me, I will never forget this day. I was able to win because of the tremendous support I got from the audience.
