Afghan para athletes warmly welcomed in Tokyo amid concern

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Despite the turmoil and confusion reigning in Afghanistan, the country has managed to send two para athletes to the Tokyo Paralympic Games.  <br />
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Amid growing uncertainty about their participation in the games due to the takeover of the country by Taliban militants, the two athletes–Zakia Khudadadi, para-taekwondo player and Hossain Rasouli, track athlete, arrived in Tokyo from Paris.<br />
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Zakia is Afghanistan's first female athlete to compete at the Paralympic Games since Athens 2004 while Hossain will participate in the long jump event as his 100-metres event has already ended. An IPC statement said that the two are living in the athletes' village and have begun preparing for their events.<br />
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IPC spokesman Craig Spence said: "Both athletes expressed their sincere gratitude for their safe evacuation from Kabul, and the opportunity to fulfill a life-long dream of attending a Paralympic Games".<br />
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He added that they will receive "all the care and support they need both during and after" the games.<br />
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Evacuated from Afghanistan through a major international collaboration, they were given a warm welcome by International Paralympic Committee officials–IPC President Andrew Parsons and IPC Athletes' Council Chairperson Chelsey Gotell.<br />
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Before arriving in Tokyo, they had spent a week in Paris at the National Institute of Sport Expertise and Performance (INSEP), the French sports ministry's high-performance training centre.<br />
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Parsons said: "Twelve days ago we were informed that the Afghan Paralympic Team could not travel to Tokyo, a move that broke the hearts of all involved in the Paralympic Movement and left both athletes devastated. That announcement kickstarted a major global operation that led to their safe evacuation from Afghanistan, their recuperation in France, and now their safe arrival in Tokyo".<br />
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The IPC chief said the reason they were taken to Paris first was to ensure their safe health. The two athletes were tested twice for Covid-19, 96 hours and 72 hours before departure and were again tested at the Tokyo airport.</p>