Meet Zakia Khudadadi, First Paralympics Medallist From Refugee Team

Para-taekwondo athlete Zakia Khudadadi scripted history on August 30 as she became the first-ever medallist from the Paralympics Refugee Team. The 25-year-old, who previously represented Afghanistan, won a bronze medal in Paris after she defeated Turkey’s Ekinci Nurcihan in the -47kg K44 category. “I went through so much to get here,” she told the media after the milestone. “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.”

Who Is Zakia Khudadadi?

Zakia Khudadadi was born without a forearm and has been practising the sport since she was 11 years old. She has represented her homeland at several international events including the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. She was then the first Afghan woman in 17 years to represent the country in the Paralympics.

Khudadadi made a video appeal to be evacuated from Taliban-ruled Afghanistan in 2021 after she and many other female athletes were blocked from competing. She settled in Paris and has been training at the Insep, France’s national institute of sport, with coach Haby Niare, a former world champion.

Representing the Paralympics Refugee Team at 2024 Paris, Khudadadi told the Associated Press, "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. We need to make people understand the reality of what refugees are going through.”

Andrew Parsons, President of the International Paralympic Committee, congratulated Khudadadi after her win. "For the Refugee Paralympic Team, it’s super special, it’s super important. Zakia just showed the world how good she is. It’s an incredible journey, it’s something that we should all learn about.”

Khudadi has won numerous accolades including Gold at the 2023 European Para Championships in Rotterdam and a prominent win at the 2016 African International Parataekwondo Championship at the age of 18. Her story has also been made into a French documentary called 'A corps perdus'.