It would have been the first woman from Afghanistan to compete in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. But now that Kabul has fallen to the Taliban, Zakia Khodadadi, a taekwondo athlete (a Korean martial art and full-contact combat sport), is stuck in the capital. And asks for help. Not only so that his dream does not vanish, but also so that his life and that of his family are saved.
«I find myself in a paradoxical situation. On one side, four years of hard work to reach the Paralympics and all of a sudden, everything seems to vanish into thin air.
I have been training hard for four years to achieve my dream and at the moment I don’t even have the security of my life, let alone enter the competition. Isn’t there anyone in this big world who can help me? I went through ups and downs to reach this goal, I worked day and night and made a lot of sacrifices », explains the athlete.
She was poised to become the first woman of the#Afghanistan to compete in the Paralympics of @Tokyo2020 . Today, after the fall of Kabul in the hands of the Taliban, Zakiya Khodadadi is stranded in the capital and asks for help 👉🏻 https://t.co/rggM6HT2PN‼ ️ #TaekwondoForZakia pic.twitter.com/JhyFrUJhh4
– Italian Taekwondo Federation (@taekwondofita) August 18, 2021
And again: «My greatest fear? All my photos and videos are spread in the virtual world and I expect something could happen to me and my family at any moment. This is the height of fear and panic. My participation in the Tokyo Paralympics is not just my wish. It would give renewed hope to all Afghan women and it would motivate them to grow and fight for our goals driven by the strength of our talent ».
Zakia doesn’t want to stop: «I see all my people destroyed in the fire of war. I want to fight through my sport for them to prove that sport wins over everything. I have been chasing my dream for over nine years and will never stop. Help me and my family. Take us to a safe place and I will show my talent to the whole world, driven by the strength of God ».
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