Who is Zakia Khudadadi? All you need to know about Afghanistan's first female Paralympian

Zakia Khudadadi was all set to create history by becoming the first female Paralympic Afghan athlete, however, her dreams were shattered when it was officially confirmed that Afghanistan will not be participating in the upcoming Paralympics in the Japanese capital of Tokyo.

Both Zakia Khudadadi and Hossain Rasouli will not be a part of the Paralympics as the ongoing turmoil in the country has now prevented them from stepping out. It was confirmed on Monday that neither athlete had been able to take their scheduled flight out of the country due to the Taliban take over.

While she won't feature in this edition of Paralympics, Zakia Khudadadi deserves a special mention as she succeeded in creating an identity for herself but more importantly, here's all one must know about Afghanistan's first female Paralympian.

Who is Zakia Khudadadi? 

Zakia Khudadadi, who is currently 23-years-old first hogged the limelight in the year 2016 when she participated in the first Para-Taekwondo Championship held in Egypt. Khudadadi was inspired by Aghanistan's two-time Olympic bronze medal-winning taekwondo practitioner Rohullah Nikpai,  to take up the sport. Rohullah won back-to-back medals- first in the 2008 edition in Beijing (Men's 58 kg) and then four years later in London (Men's 68 kg). 

Tokyo Paralympics

The event will see participants like legendary swimmers USA's Mckenzie Coan and Jessica Long, and Brazil's Daniel Dias. Also, two-time Paralympic champion Zahra Nemati will try to win another gold in archery. Germany's Markus Rehm will also look to defend his long jump titles. Japan's Sato Tomoki (Para-athletics - marathon) and Team Great Britain's Jordanne Whiley (wheelchair tennis) will hunt for their maiden gold. Indian Para-swimmer Niranjan Mukundan will also take part in the 50 m butterfly event. High jumper Mariyappan Thangavelu will be India's flagbearer at the Tokyo Paralympics. He is one of the four Indian medallists at Rio 2016. Two-time Paralympic gold-medallist Devendra Jhajharia will also participate in the Games.

The current turmoil in Afghanistan

President Ashraf Ghani fled from Afghanistan on Sunday after surrendering against the Taliban. Before the surrender, the Taliban systematically started attacking provinces to take over from the government. As they reached the gates of Kabul, the Taliban already had acquired more than 60% of the entire country. When the news regarding the takeover broke out, thousands of Afghani citizens reached the Kabul airport in the hopes of finding a ticket to another country.