To compete in the Paris 2024 Paralympics, Zakia Khudadadi must win medals (2/4)

FRANCE 24 English

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00:00Here at the Paris Taekwondo Grand Prix, the stakes are high for Zakia.

00:05The young Afghan must prove she can win medals, in order to be given French nationality and

00:10compete in the Paris 2024 Paralympics alongside the Blues.

00:15Zakia trains with us as part of the French team and we train her as if she were French.

00:21To compete with France, you have to have French nationality and there are two important criteria

00:25for that.

00:26Knowing how to speak French, which she does pretty well now, and she's going to keep improving.

00:31And to have competition results too, top results.

00:35OK, let me see you move.

00:39If you start too calmly here, she's going to hit you and you're not going to see it

00:43coming.

00:44So move back a bit.

00:46In 15 years, the young woman has only taken part in eight competitions.

00:51But that hasn't stopped her from quickly adapting to demands at world-class level.

00:55In August 2023, she won her most prestigious title, becoming European para-taekwondo champion

01:01in Rotterdam.

01:04Today I sense she's quite relaxed.

01:05I get the impression that she's almost impatient.

01:08We're as impatient as she is, we're confident.

01:10We know that the last medal gave her a big confidence boost too.

01:13We can't wait to see what happens on the mat without pressuring her too much.

01:17Allez Zakia!

01:19Allez!

01:20Allez!

01:21Surprise!

01:22Surprise!

01:23Surprise!

01:25But this time, her determination wasn't enough to win her the title.

01:31I fought well.

01:32I'm happy.

01:33But I lost by three points to the Uzbek competitor, who was very skilled.

01:40But it doesn't matter.

01:41I'm still training for the second competition.

01:44I train hard every day at the INSEP.

01:47There's no break, no rest until Paris 2024.

01:54Zakia lost in the final, despite the presence of her family and friends.

02:00The first time I saw Zakia fight up close, I was happy and proud.

02:07Sport is currently forbidden for Afghan women.

02:10I can't describe my emotions when I see an Afghan woman taking part in an Olympic discipline.

02:16Zakia is not just a European champion.

02:21She is also a beacon of hope for all Afghan women.

02:26Her tenacity paid off in the end.

02:29On March the 8th in Bulgaria, she won gold again at the European tournament in Sofia.

02:35Zakia is officially qualified for the Paris 2024 Games.

02:39And in gold, we have Zakia Kudani from the WT Refugee Team.

02:50ZAKIA KUDANI

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