In Paris, Judoka Nigara Shaheen Reminded The World She's More Than A Refugee

Nigara Shaheen has traversed through four countries to finally find stability, and practice her sport the way she likes. Originally an Afghan refugee, Shaheen is participating in judo as a member of the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) Refugee Team at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Despite all odds being against her, Shaheen's dedication to her art led her to Canada, where she could train in relative peace.

Who Is Nigara Shaheen?

Shaheen's judo journey started out in Peshawar, Pakistan as an 11-year-old. Her family came to Pakistan from Afghanistan when Shaheen was only an infant, she thus grew up there. However, being a refugee and attending refugee school, she and her family members faced discrimination, bullying, and even assault. It became crucial that she learn how to defend herself.

Thus her martial arts journey began, on the small balcony of her aunt's home. She could not train in public, so her karate instructor came to her. Soon after, she was competing in, and winning local karate tournaments. Her coaches at the time noticed her aptitude and passion for the sport and advised her to try out judo.

The judoka that we know today was born thereafter. Shaheen told BBC that it was the philosophy of judo that really called out to her. Her first coach told her that you would not learn how to get up unless you fell. ''As a kid, that really motivated me.''

She got better and better at judo and even trained with the Pakistani national team. However, she could not compete with them as she did not have a Pakistani passport. She has admitted previously that her heart belonged to Kabul, a feeling that led her back to Afghanistan in 2014. 

She was pursuing her bachelor's degree in political science and public administration at the American University of Afghanistan alongside training with the Afghani national judo team as the only woman. 

When she left Kabul for Russia in 2018, she had been competing for three years but faced both cyber and physical bullying as a woman training alongside men in the high-contact sport. Still, Shaheen considers those years to be the best years of her career. ''Inside the gym, we were a family'', she told Toronto Life.

Nigara Shaheen's First Olympics

For her, Russia was a sharp contrast to Afghanistan, where she trained alone before the International Judo Federation invited her to try out for the Olympic refugee team in 2019, for which she qualified. She has said that she is grateful for the opportunity to participate in the Olympics and embrace her identity as a refugee, but she has still always wanted to compete under the Afghani national flag and become the first female Afghani to bring home an Olympic medal.

Though her time at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics was cut short due to a shoulder injury, Shaheen participated in the Dusseldorf Grand Slam in 2020 and the Kazan Grand Slam in 2021 as a member of the International Judo Federation's (IJF) Refugee Team. However, she faced controversy in Pakistan as she did not compete with a headscarf in these tournaments.

After this, she took the opportunity to start anew and moved to Canada in 2022, where she is currently training.

''I was so happy to finally be at a place where I can be myself, but it was also hard for me because I had to say goodbye to my parents for the second time,'' she told BBC.

Shaheen At Paris Olympics 2024

At her sophomore appearance at the Olympics, the 31-year-old had to bow out in the women's 63 kg event to Mexico's Prisca Awiti Alcaraz on July 30. She also competed in the mixed team event of the knockout format on Saturday, 3 August. However, in this too, the six-member refugee judo team bowed out as they lost 4-0 to Spain.

Shaheen told the Olympics.com ahead of Paris 2024 that she found a family with the Refugee Olympic Team. 

''Our journey from Tokyo to Paris, you can see that there's so many differences that we relate with. We are a team and a family. We celebrate New Year together, we eat together, we all get together to celebrate.'' 

From Afghanistan to Pakistan and back to Afghanistan, then to Russia and Canada, Shaheen has definitely lit up all the different parts of the world with her dedication and passion for the sport. With athletes like her at Paris 2024, young girlsfulfiling inspired to fight all odds to fulfil their dreams.