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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Native name | ذکیه خدادادی | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality |  Afghanistan | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 29 September 1998 Herat Province, Afghanistan | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | Afghanistan, Islamic Republic of | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Taekwondo | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Zakia Khudadadi also spelt as Zakia Khodadadi; (born 29 September 1998)[1][2] is a Hazara parataekwondo practitioner. She is the first Afghan female taekwondo practitioner. She rose to prominence after winning the African International Parataekwondo Championship in 2016 at the age of 18. She represented Afghanistan at the 2020 Summer Paralympics. She was initially denied the opportunity to compete at her first Paralympics due to the Taliban takeover but was later allowed by the International Paralympic Committee to compete in the event after being safely evacuated from Afghanistan.[3][4][5] She was able to compete and became the first Afghan female Paralympic competitor to compete at the Paralympics in 17 years since Mareena Karim's participation at the 2004 Summer Paralympics.[6][7][3] She also officially became the first Afghan female sportsperson to participate in an international sporting event after the Taliban takeover and the first-ever member of the Refugee Paralympic Team to win a medal.
- ^ "Afghans head to Tokyo with message of hope and peace". paralympic.org. 10 August 2021.
- ^ "Taekwondo: KHUDADADI Zakia". Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 29 August 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
- ^ a b "Zakia Khudadadi becomes 2nd Afghan woman to compete at Paralympics after her secret evacuation". The Economic Times. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
- ^ "Zakia Khudadadi's hopes of becoming first Afghan female Paralympian dashed". the Guardian. 16 August 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
- ^ "Afghanistan's Paralympians safely evacuated, says International Paralympic Committee". The Indian Express. 26 August 2021. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
- ^ "Afghanistan's first female Paralympian is trapped in Kabul and cannot get to Tokyo". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
- ^ McElwee, Molly (16 August 2021). "Afghanistan's first female Paralympian denied chance to travel to Tokyo Games". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 18 August 2021.