Sidney, August 24, 2021 – “Let me go to Tokyo: it’s my dream “, he prayed Zakia Khodadadi, 23 years, Afghan Paralympic taekwondoka, on August 17. And today that dream is very close to coming true: Zakia, whose participation in the Games was prevented by the invasion of the Taliban in Kabul, it’s time safely in the hands of Australians, says a note fromAips, the world association of sports press. With her also the Paralympic discus thrower Hossain Rasouli.
Zakia is the first Afghan woman to cultivate the dream of participating in the Paralympics: now there is still time to do so, it all depends on you. in the meantime his life is safe, far from the Taliban horror. Taekwondo meetings are scheduled to Tokyo between 2 and 4 September: Zakia could participate as part of the refugee team.
The appeal of the young athlete to the international community, made through the Ansa and relaunched the next day by the New York Times, has become an international case. Australia has granted a seen to her and a group of other sportsmen, mostly women, now safe and perhaps already in flight after entering Kabul airport. The ABC specifies that the athletes have been taken to Dubai, from where they will then be embarked for Australia with humanitarian visas. It is not excluded that there may also be on board the Afghan footballers.
Vito Dell’Aquila: too happy
Immediate reaction of joy of Vito Dell’Aquila, 21-year-old taekwondoka and first Italian Olympic gold medalist in Tokyo: “I’m too happy that they managed to take Zakia out of Kabul: now I hope he can fulfill his dream of going to Tokyo and participating in the Paralympics”. And he continues: “I hope that many other girls will be able to save themselves from this very bad situation. And for Zakia I hope she can realize her dreams, starting with that of participating in Tokyo”.
The rescue mission
The rescue mission was coordinated by a little one group of former sportsmen, including former Canadian Olympian and Sydney attorney Nikki Dryden, which collected the dossiers of athletes at risk. Zakia’s was also followed by the Italian federtaekwondo and the Italian Paralympic committee.
L’access to the airport Kabul International was not easy. Since the Taliban flag was raised on the palaces of power, the airport has transformed into a western fort besieged by desperate Afghans. The Paralympics yesterday separated from the rest of the group, with the risk of losing the possibility of accessing the terminal. For well twice they were turned back at the gates and Zakia, even with posts on social media, expressed all his desperation.
But finally, with the intervention of the Australian government, they managed to gain access. And the girl’s happiness is all in a photo taken with her companions and the Australian military.
Fears of retaliation
The appeal of the 23-year-old athlete was strong: “My family is in a very bad situation. We are all under the control of the Taliban and this is a great nightmare.” The fear was that with the explosion of his case the Taliban could hunt her down. Then a thought of the hard work that has seen her busy in recent years, following the myth of Rohullah Nikpai, the only Afghan in history to have won medals at the Olympics, precisely in taekwondo. “I trained hard for the Olympics, but at the moment I don’t even have the security of life, let alone the competition.”
The Italian taekwondo federation
“It is news that fills us with joy”, he exults Angelo Cito, president of the Italian taekwondo federation. “It was a confidential operation, with the aim of bringing the athletes to safety without putting their families at risk”, added Cito, referring to the actions taken by Fita and the Italian Paralympic Committee, which after the appeal to the world launched from Zakia they activated respectively the world federation and the international Paralympic committee, which prepared the dossier then collected from Australia. “They were terrible days – adds Cito, who in recent days has kept in constant contact with his representatives – And terrible is what everyone in Afghanistan is experiencing, especially women and children: all those who can must make a contribution, and the world of sport in this has been able to mobilize “.
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