New Delhi, India

Afghan athletes carried their national flag during closing ceremony of the Tokyo Paralympics Games 2020 at the Olympic Stadium on Sunday (September 5). 

Advertisment

Taekwondo athlete Zakia Khudadadi and Hossain Rasouli managed to participate in the Games after they were evacuated from Afghanistan, arriving in Tokyo on August 29.

They caught a secret flight from Paris one week after being evacuated from Kabul. 

ALSO READ | From Mirabai Chanu to Avani Lekhara: 5 women Olympians who have made a lasting impact with glittering performances

Advertisment

During the closing ceremony, the pair, wearing red and green team tracksuits, handed the flag over to a volunteer before joining other athletes in helping to decorate a replica of Tokyo's Skytree Tower. 

Due to political chaos and unfortunate turn of events, the Afghan athletes could not travel to Japan on time to participate in the opening ceremony as a volunteer had carried the Afghanistan flag spreading a "message of solidarity and peace". 

Watch Afghanistan athletes during the closing ceremony:

Advertisment

×

During the opening ceremony, there was no information on the evacuation of both the athletes. Later, details of their evacuation via Paris had been kept secret, in what International Paralympic Committee spokesman Craig Spence described as a "major global operation".

"Both athletes are here in Tokyo to fulfil their dreams, sending out a very strong message of hope to many others around the world," Spence said.

ALSO READ | From Neeraj Chopra to Krishna Nagar: Olympic and Paralympic 'gold diggers' make India happy

Due to their delayed arrival, Rasouli was too late to compete in his favoured T47 100m event, but he entered the long jump final and recorded jumps of 4.37, 4.21 and 4.46. It did not win him a medal, but the attempts were long enough to cross physical, mental and political hurdles. 

Khudadadi, 22, fought in the Paralympics' first-ever taekwondo bout. She didn't get the desired result but her participation itself is inspirational. 

If we look at the medal tally, China finished on top of the medal table with 207, including 96 golds, followed by Britain, the United States and the Russian team. 

The Tokyo Paralympics were held from August 24 to September 5. The next edition of the Summer Olympics and Paralympics is scheduled for 2024 in Paris.