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Four Afghans included in Refugee Olympic Team for Paris 2024

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The International Olympic Committee on Thursday confirmed the list of athletes who will form the IOC Refugee Olympic Team for the Paris 2024 games – of which four are from Afghanistan.

The four athletes are Amir Ansari, who will participate in the road cycling event; Arab Sibghatullah, in judo; Farzad Mansouri, in taekwondo; and Nigara Shaheen, in judo.

A total of 36 athletes from 11 different countries of origin will form the team. They will compete in 12 different sports: aquatics (swimming), athletics, badminton, boxing, breaking, canoe (slalom and sprint), cycling (road), judo, shooting, taekwondo, weightlifting, and wrestling (freestyle and Greco-Roman).

IOC President Thomas Bach made the announcement during a ceremony at Olympic House in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Thursday (2 May). He said: “We welcome all of you with open arms. You are an enrichment to our Olympic Community, and to our societies.

“With your participation in the Olympic Games, you will demonstrate the human potential of resilience and excellence. This will send a message of hope to the more than 100 million displaced people around the world.”

The IOC Refugee Olympic Team is competing at the Olympic Games for the third time, after previous appearances at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.

This year, its chef-de-mission will be Masomah Ali Zada, who competed as a member of the IOC Refugee Olympic Team Tokyo 2020.

Afghanistan’s athlete profiles:

Amir Ansari

Cycling Road

Amir was born in Iran but grew up in Afghanistan, before he fled in 2015. Since then, Amir has sought refuge in Sweden and trains with the Stockholm Cycling Club. He has participated in national and international championships in time trial and road race competitions as part of the Stockholm CK team and UCI Refugee Team.

Arab Sibghatullah

Judo

Sibghatullah’s journey in Judo began when he was just eight years old in Kunduz province, Afghanistan. His talent earned him a spot on the Afghanistan National Youth Judo team at the age of nineteen. When he left the country, he traveled overland through several countries, including Iran, Türkiye, Greece, Bosnia, and Slovenia, before finally arriving in Germany in November 2022.

Today, as a Refugee Athlete Scholarship-holder, Sibghatullah trains with the 1. Judo-Club in Mönchengladbach, Germany, and dedicates two days per week to training at a training camp in Köln.

His hard work and dedication paid off when he secured 7th place at the European Open Madrid in the summer of 2023. He firmly believes in the importance of consistency and never misses a morning in the gym.

Farzad Mansouri

Taekwondo

Farzad was born in Parwan, Afghanistan. Representing Afghanistan, he won a silver medal at the 2019 Asian Junior Taekwondo Championships in Amman and was the flagbearer for Afghanistan at the Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Soon after the Games, Farzad left Afghanistan and today he trains alongside Great Britain (GB) Taekwondo athletes and continues to improve his English. His focus is on performing his best at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Nigara Shaheen

Female judoka

Born in Afghanistan, Nigara is a judoka who competes in the -70kg category. She took up judo when she was 11, living as a refugee in Peshawar, Pakistan, as practicing martial arts was a family tradition.

She has a master’s degree in international trade from the Ural Federal University in Ekaterinburg. Since September 2022, she has been living in Canada, where she studies and trains.

As a member of the IJF Refugee Team, she participated in the Düsseldorf Grand Slam in 2020 and the Kazan Grand Slam in 2021. She was a member of the IOC Refugee Olympic Team Tokyo 2020 in the individual and mixed team events.

Broadcasting rights

Ariana Television Network (ATN) will officially broadcast this year’s Olympic Games exclusively on Ariana Television.

The games will start on Friday, July 26 and run through to Sunday August 11.

 

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ACL: Ariana Khost win, Ain Mina and Khurasan Faryab draw

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In the ongoing sixth season of Afghanistan Champions League Roshan, Ariana Khost defeated Toofan Herat 2–0, while Ain Mina Kandahar and Khurasan Faryab played out a 1–1 draw.

Ariana Khost and Toofan Herat faced each other in Kabul on Wednesday in the eighth match of the competition.

Neither side managed to score in the first half. However, in the second half, Ariana Khost’s Jawad Alkozay opened the scoring in the 80th minute.

Wares Shirzay then scored Ariana Khost’s second goal in stoppage time, securing a 2–0 victory for his side.

Jawad Alkozay was named the player of the match.

In the ninth match, Ain Mina Kandahar faced Khurasan Faryab, with the game ending in a 1–1 draw.

Sami Yazdani opened the scoring for Khurasan Faryab in the first half, while Sayed Rauf scored for Ain Mina Kandahar, leaving the two sides level at 1–1 at halftime.

Neither team was able to find another goal in the second half, and the match ended in a draw.

The sixth season of Afghanistan Champions League Roshan will continue on Friday with two matches: Surkh Poshan Khafi will face Arman FC, while Sarsabz Yashlar will take on Isteqlal Kabul.

Football fans can watch the matches live on Ariana Television.

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India take 2-0 lead in 3-match series against Afghanistan 

Afghanistan suffered an early setback when Rahmanullah Gurbaz was dismissed for a duck by Arshdeep Singh in the second over, following a maiden from Jasprit Bumrah in the opening over.

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India sealed the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan with a seven-wicket victory on Tuesday, chasing down 160 in just 14.5 overs at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.

Sanju Samson led the charge with a blistering 57 off 22 balls, striking seven fours and four sixes at a strike rate of 259.09. Abhishek Sharma added 39 from 19 deliveries as India raced to 82 without loss during the powerplay.

Afghanistan were restricted to 159/8 after being asked to bat first. Captain Ibrahim Zadran top-scored with 37 from 33 balls, while Rashid Khan provided late acceleration with 28 off 16. India’s Nitish Kumar Reddy was the standout bowler, claiming a career-best 3/24.

Afghanistan suffered an early setback when Rahmanullah Gurbaz was dismissed for a duck by Arshdeep Singh in the second over, following a maiden from Jasprit Bumrah in the opening over.

Ibrahim and Sediqullah Atal attempted to rebuild the innings, but India continued to take wickets whenever Afghanistan threatened to establish momentum. Ibrahim fell for 37 in the ninth over to Nitish, leaving Afghanistan at 67/4.

Atal made 12 before being dismissed by Ravi Bishnoi, while Darwish Rasooli briefly accelerated the scoring with 26 off 15 balls, including two sixes. Arshdeep Singh ended his innings.

Rashid then struck three fours and a six in his 28 from 16 balls to lift Afghanistan towards a competitive total, but Nitish dismissed him in the final over as Afghanistan finished on 159/8.

India’s response was emphatic. Samson and Abhishek attacked from the outset, bringing up 50 in only 4.4 overs before reaching 82 without loss at the end of the powerplay.

Samson reached his half-century from just 20 balls before Rashid Khan struck twice in the space of four deliveries, removing Abhishek for 39 and then Samson for 57.

Rashid completed his three-wicket haul by dismissing India captain Shreyas Iyer for 11, but the damage had already been done.

Ishan Kishan remained unbeaten on 38 from 23 balls, while Tilak Varma finished 15 not out as India reached 163/3 in 14.5 overs to win by seven wickets.

The victory gives India an unassailable 2–0 lead in the series, with the third and final T20I scheduled for Thursday at the same venue.

Brief scores: Afghanistan 159/8 (Ibrahim Zadran 37; Nitish Kumar Reddy 3/24) lost to India 163/3 in 14.5 overs (Sanju Samson 57; Rashid Khan 3/36) by seven wickets.

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Nabi reaches 2,500 T20I runs

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Afghanistan all-rounder Mohammad Nabi has reached another major milestone, becoming the first Afghan player to score 2,500 runs in T20I cricket.

Nabi reached the landmark in his 142nd T20I innings. He has scored seven half-centuries in the format, with a highest score of 89.

The veteran all-rounder continues to add to his record-breaking career and remains one of Afghanistan’s most experienced and influential players in international cricket.

Afghanistan is currently playing India in the second of a three-match T20I series. Fans in Afghanistan can watch the series live on Ariana Television.

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