Zakia Khodadadi, a Para taekwondo athlete from Afghanistan and a member of the Refugee Paralympic Team, won the bronze medal at the Paris Paralympic Games.

Zakia Khudadadi has made Paralympic history by winning bronze at Paris 2024 – By Ayano Shimizu for the IPC

Zakia Khodadadi, Afghan para-athlete and member of the International Paralympic Committee’s immigrant team, won a medal in the Paris Paralympic Games with a historic performance today, Thursday, 29 August.

The Paralympic Games are the largest sports event for disabled athletes in the world, which will be held after the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

With the participation of thousands of athletes from all over the world, these competitions showcase the sports abilities of people with disabilities in various sports fields.

The Facebook page of the Paralympic Games, by publishing a photo of Zakia Khodadadi, has described his success as “historic”.

In his first match, he played against a Cuban opponent and won 21-11. This was Mrs. Khodadadi’s first victory in the Paralympic Games and she was among the top eight taekwondo players of these competitions.

To win the bronze medal, Zakia Khodadadi had to face an opponent from Morocco, but his opponent did not participate due to injury and he won the first Paralympic medal.

This is his first medal in the Paralympic competitions and the first medal of the Refugee Paralympic Team.
Zakia Khodadadi won the bronze medal while especially in recent months, the Taliban’s restrictions on women in Afghanistan have caused reactions all over the world.

Zakia Khodadadi is an Afghan Para taekwondo athlete who participated in Para taekwondo for the first time in Paralympic competitions.

Khodadadi left the country in 2021 after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan and joined the International Paralympic Committee refugee team. She was able to participate in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, which were held in 2021 due to the Corona epidemic, and became the first Afghan woman in the history of these competitions.

In 2023, he won the European Para taekwondo Championship