Photo: Collected
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) on Tuesday (9 July) unveiled a nine-member refugee team for the upcoming Games in Paris. The team is made up of eight competitors and one guide runner. They will take part in taekwondo, athletics, triathlon, power lifting, table tennis and wheelchair fencing.
"The world has more than 120 million forcibly displaced people worldwide," said Andrew Parsons, the IPC president. "Many live in dire conditions. These athletes have persevered and shown incredible determination to get to Paris 2024 and give every refugee around the world hope."
Ibrahim Al Hussein will be competing in a third Paralympics for the refugee team but is switching from swimming to triathlon, even though he faced the challenge of putting together "all the necessary equipment to compete in triathlon which can be expensive".
Al Hussein arrived in Greece from Syria 10 years ago. "Sport has helped me integrate into society," he said.
Zakia Khudadadi, who represented Afghanistan at the covid-delayed Tokyo Games in 2021 shortly after being evacuated from the country following the Taliban takeover, and Hadi Hassanzada will compete in parataekwondo. Hassanzada was born in Afghanistan and grew up in Iran.
"Then I returned to Afghanistan thinking that the country had become peaceful. I was wrong.
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