Following the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan as the Taliban took control of Kabul, two Paralympians are unable to leave the capital city and will not be competing in the Summer Games.
Zakia Khudadadia, a 23-year-old taekwondo fighter, and 24-year-old track and field athlete Hossain Rasouli were both expected to compete in the 2020 Paralympics and represent Afghanistan.
The pair of competitors are stuck in Afghanistan because the country's airports are closed.
"Due to the serious ongoing situation in the country, all airports are closed and there is no way for them to travel to Tokyo," Hossain Rasouli, a spokesman for the International Paralympic Committee, told The Washington Post. "We hope the team and officials remain safe and well during this difficult time."
Khudadadi's trip to the Games would have made her Afghanistan's first-ever female Paralympian. Afghanistan Paralympic Committee's London-based Chef de Mission Arian Sadiqi noted that the two athletes were looking forward to this opportunity, especially because of the history Khudadadia was going to make.
"They were really excited prior to the situation. They were training wherever they could, in the parks and back gardens," Sadiqi said, according to Reuters. "This would have been the first female Afghan taekwondo player to take part. This was history in the making. She was very passionate to compete. Zakia would have been a great role model for the rest of the females in the country."
A feature from the International Paralympic Committee noted the pair of athletes did not have an easy path to the Games, even before the situation with Taliban worsened in the last few weeks. The athletes had limited spaces to train leading up to the Paralympics and were forced to use spots like backyards and nearby hills.
Sadiqi said he has not been able to reach either athlete recently, but believes they are both in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan.
