Afghan woman Zakia Khudadadi wins Refugee Team’s first medal in Paralympic history

Overwhelmed with joy, Zakia Khudadadi threw herself and her equipment into the air as she celebrated making history Thursday by winning the Refugee Team’s first medal at a Paralympic Games. 

Originally from Afghanistan, Khudadadi, 25, won the bronze medal in the women’s taekwondo K44 -47kg category at the Grand Palais in Paris after defeating Turkey’s Nurcihan Ekinci.

"I went through so much to get here," Khudadadi told reporters after her victory. "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."

Khudadadi competed for Afghanistan at the 2021 Tokyo Paralympics, where she reached the Round of 16. Khudadadi and fellow Afghan athlete Hossain Rasouli narrowly escaped the Taliban’s 2021 takeover of Afghanistan to compete in Tokyo following what International Paralympic Committee President Andrew Parson described as a "major global operation" to clandestinely evacuate the pair to France.

Khudadadi secretly started taekwondo as a child at a gym in her hometown of Herat, Western Afghanistan, according to the Associated Press.

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The Taliban have since banned women from sports and areas of public life. 

"For me, the bronze, it's like gold because I come to France. Before I am in Afghanistan and in Afghanistan it's not possible (to do) the sport," Khudadadi told Olympics.com after her win.

Khudadadi now lives and trains in Paris. She had the support of a lively home crowd that held up "Zakia" signs and cheered as she took a victory lap with her French coach Haby Niare, who won a silver medal in Rio.

"I won because of the great support from the crowd," Khudadadi said.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi awarded the medals at the victory ceremony.

"This historic win for the Refugee Paralympic Team embodies the power, determination and grit of Zakia and her fellow refugees," Grandi said.

"Standing on the podium tonight, she represents 120 million people forcibly displaced worldwide," Grandi added. "Zakia is a role model for us all. Despite the challenges she has faced, she has become a Paralympic medalist achieving the highest pinnacle of sporting success. The night is hers!"

The Refugee Olympic and Paralympic teams have competed in every edition of the Games since Rio 2016. Paris 2024 also saw the Refugee Olympic Team win its first medal as Cindy Winner Djankeu Ngamba took home bronze in the 75kg class of women’s boxing earlier this month.