The taekwondo fighter Zakia Khudadadi made history on Thursday at the Paris Paralympics, becoming the first-ever Refugee Paralympic Team medallist.
Khudadadi, who competed for Afghanistan at the Tokyo Games in 2021, won bronze in the women’s -47kg category. She defeated Turkey’s Ekinci Nurcihan in what was effectively a bronze medal match after the next scheduled opponent, Morocco’s Naoual Larrif, withdrew.
When the final buzzer sounded at the Grand Palais, Khudadadi erupted in joy, throwing her helmet and mouthpiece into the air. “It was a surreal moment, my heart started racing when I realised I had won the bronze,” Khudadadi said, her voice shaking with emotion.
“I went through so much to get here,” the 25-year-old added. “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, who was born without one forearm, began practicing taekwondo in secret at the age of 11 in a hidden gym in her hometown of Herat, in western Afghanistan.
Originally blocked from competing following the return to power of the Taliban in 2021, she was later evacuated from Afghanistan after making a desperate appeal on video. Khudadadi was allowed to compete at the Tokyo Olympics for her country following a plea from the international community.
After the competition, she settled in Paris and was later offered the opportunity to compete with the Refugee Team at the 2024 Paralympics, being held in her adopted home city. On Thursday, the Grand Palais crowd cheered her on as if she were one of their own.
Since fleeing Afghanistan, Khudadadi has been training at Insep, France’s national institute of sport, in Paris with her French coach Haby Niare, who is a former taekwondo world champion.
“This medal means everything to me, I will never forget that day,” Khudadadi said. “I won because of the great support I got from the crowd.”
“Zakia has been magical. I don’t know how else to put it,” Niare said, beaming with pride. “The training process has been challenging. She faced a lot of injuries and she had to learn a lot in a couple of years but she never lost sight of her goal.”
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Khudadadi received her medal from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, and Andrew Parsons, the president of the International Paralympic Committee.
“For the Refugee Paralympic Team, it’s super special, it’s super important,” Parsons said. “Zakia just showed to the world how good she is. It’s an incredible journey, it’s something that we should all learn about.”
Before the Games began this week, Khudadadi spoke of her pride at representing refugees. “I am really happy and ready to represent the refugee team because I am a refugee in France,” she said. “I hope we can all get a medal to show how proud we are.”
“We need to make people understand that refugees have a right to asylum, that they had to flee their countries because of the situation they were in,” she added. “We need to make people understand the reality of what refugees are going through.”
