Sport
Afghan Paralympians’ well-being is top priority, no media access during Games
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) said on Sunday that the well-being and mental health of two newly arrived Afghan athletes were the IPC’s top priority and so the two athletes would not be speaking to media during the Games.
Zakai Khudadadi and Hossain Rasouli arrived in Tokyo on Saturday after being evacuated from the Afghan capital Kabul a week ago.
“As you can imagine, the meeting was extremely emotional, there were lots of tears from everyone in the room. It was remarkable, it really was a remarkable meeting,” said the IPC’s chief communications officer, Craig Spence.
Taekwondo athlete Khudadadi had made a video appeal for help to leave Kabul, after the pair were unable to leave Afghanistan after the Taliban swept to power, Reuters reported.
The national buzkashi team of Afghanistan delivered an impressive performance to claim third place at the 2026 World Kokpar Championship in Kazakhstan.
Afghanistan dominated the group stage with commanding victories—thrashing Hungary 14–0, defeating Russia 5–0, and overcoming Mongolia 7–0—to top Group B and advance to the semi-finals.
Despite a strong effort, Afghanistan fell 4–2 to Uzbekistan in the semi-finals. However, the team responded emphatically in the third-place playoff, beating Russia 6–0 to secure the bronze medal.
Alongside their podium finish, Afghanistan was awarded 4,500,000 Kazakh tenge (around 9,400 US dollars) by the International Kokpar Federation, capping off a successful campaign on the global stage.
Ireland cricket officials have announced that they will host Afghanistan for a five-match ODI series from August 5–14.
Other international teams including Australia and England have either cancelled or avoided scheduling bilateral series against Afghanistan since the Islamic Emirate regained power in 2021.
“Cricket Ireland has made a decision to play Afghanistan in Belfast this year,” CI chief executive Sarah Keane said on Friday. “I’m not going to fob you off by saying that there’s financial reasons and there’s legal reasons. There aren’t. This has been a decision by Cricket Ireland in what it believes is the best interest of the organisation as a whole, and the decision was made by the board this week.”
Afghanistan’s national buzkashi team was eliminated from the Kokpar World Championship after losing 4–2 to Uzbekistan in the semifinals on Friday.
The defeat prevented the Afghan team from reaching the final, ending their hopes for the tournament title.
Earlier in the tournament, Afghanistan had secured victories over Hungary, Mongolia, and Russia, showcasing strong performances in the opening rounds.
The international Kokpar competition was hosted in the city of Turkistan, Kazakhstan, bringing together top teams from around the world.
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