SUCCESS FOR THE ATHLETES BEATEN AND BANNED BY THE TALIBAN
▶ Ruchi Kumar reports from Kabul on the Afghans who shone at the Asian Indoor Games
Sadam Chakari still remembers the days when the Taliban banned most sports in Afghanistan, and how he secretly learnt a martial art at the age of 8 in the basement of a friend’s house.
“A few friends and I set up an underground tae kwon do club in Kabul,” says Chakari, 24, who competes in the Soviet-style martial art of sambo.
Somehow the Taliban heard of their activities and raided their club, where older children were teaching the younger ones.
“We were beaten by the Taliban police and given a strict warning to never indulge in such activities again,” Chakari says. “But a few a weeks later we met at a different location and continued our practice.”
Perseverance paid off when the Afghan national team took home a dozen medals from the international 2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Turkmenistan last month.
It was the fifth time the 12day event had been held and Afghanistan sent 215 competitors, who made 26th place out of 65 national teams.
It was the first time Afghanistan had won a medal at the games. That it came about despite ongoing war and insecurity made the achievement – and the celebrations – all the sweeter.
“Ours is a country of war and being a sportsperson helps me contribute positively to Afghanistan,” says Chakari, who made it to the semi-finals of the men’s combat under90 kilogram category, before losing to a Kazakh athlete.
From that first act of young rebellion grew a passion for combat sports and Chakari went on to learn boxing and eventually sambo, a sport that came to Afghanistan with the Soviet invasion in the 1980s.
“It’s very difficult and requires a lot of strategy and practice. It is a popular sport among the Russian army men,” he says.
Hekmatullah Hakimi, 33, coach and member of the Afghan national wrestling team, says patriotism is a great driver.
“There are few things that make me as happy as watching the Afghan flag flying to mark your victory,” Hakimi says.
A winner of the Asian championship for belt wrestling in the 90kg class, he led a team that won five of the 12 medals – four bronze and one silver.
Sayed Gul Mehraban and Javid Ahmad Ahmadi won two of the bronzes – in men’s classic style, 82kg and 90kg.
Noor Ahmad Ahmadi and Mustafa Hussaini grabbed the other two bronzes for men’s freestyle 97kg and men’s Greco-Roman 71kg, while Jawid Ahmad Amiri bagged the silver in men’s freestyle 62kg. Most of the competitors were young, and for many this was their first international competition.
“They were extremely proud and cheered each other. They had tears in their eyes every time Afghanistan won something,” Hakimi says.
The Taliban abhorred most forms of recreation, but they allowed wrestling. Not only did they allow it, they took part in it.
“They had formed a team in Herat and would compete with the local groups,” says Hakimi, who is from that province. “Afghans have been wrestling since the time when the country was called Khorasan.
“It was popular among the people of the Nooristan valley, who may have contributed to developing it to its modern-day form.”
Hakimi says that his country’s long history with wrestling may have contributed to their victories at the games this year.
“We have our own traditional techniques and moves that our competitors were not aware of and couldn’t predict,” he says.
But despite their talent and perseverance, Afghan competitors face challenges that go beyond the obvious security risks and the dangers of rising insurgency.
“Our biggest challenge remains access to resources. We don’t even have a proper gymnasium to practise in,” Hakimi says. “Most of the time we play in open public grounds in Herat, which is a very windy city, and it makes practising very inconvenient and unhealthy.”
Chakari agrees: “We have never received any support from the government and most of us pursue these games on our own, with our own money, often with the help of our community.”
Representing Afghanistan also often means challenging stereotypes about their wartorn country.
“People often ask about the situation in our country. This happens when we participate at the international platforms. Everything they know about Afghanistan is related to war,” says Hakimi, obviously exasperated.
For many of the players, making it to the Asian Games was an opportunity to change perceptions about Afghanistan.
“I get to show a different side of Afghanistan to the world and gain positive recognition for my country,” Chakari says.
Both see sport as an outlet for promoting peace in their country.
“It can be any sport,” Hakimi says. “The more youth join sports, the more they will show the world that we Afghans can do anything and have a lot more to offer.”