‘Heartbreaking’: Afghan Paralympic athletes to miss Tokyo 2020

Zakia Khudadadi, stuck in Kabul, would have been first woman to represent Afghanistan at a Paralympic Games at Tokyo.

Zakia Khudadadi would have been the first woman to represent Afghanistan at a Paralympic Games when they start in Tokyo this month, but her dream has been shattered amid the country’s turmoil. Just two Paralympic athletes from Afghanistan were scheduled to compete in the Games set to commence on August 24 – taekwondo athlete Zakia Khudadadi and track athlete Hossain Rasouli. Khudadadi, 23, was to be the first woman ever to represent Afghanistan at the Paralympics.