Afghanistan’s Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games flag-bearer Farzad Mansouri has been flown out of Afghanistan.
In an exclusive interview with The National, the 19-year-old Taekwondo champion confirmed on a call that he and four members of his family departed Kabul on Monday morning and are now in a safe location, where they are considering their options.
One athlete I know has been going to the airport in Kabul for several days. He said that he was hurt, he tried to get near the airport but he was badly injured
Farzad Mansouri
Just one month ago, in what was undoubtedly one of the proudest moments of his life, Mr Mansouri paraded his nation’s flag at the opening ceremony of 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
He had no idea that just a few weeks later, that honour would put him in grave danger.
Taliban sport crackdown
“I was under threat because the Taliban hates the past government, and I was a flag-bearer for them,” Mr Mansouri said.
The Taliban have swept to victory in Afghanistan, completing their shockingly rapid advance across the country by capturing Kabul, Mr Mansouri's home city, on August 15.
It comes after foreign forces announced their withdrawal following a deal between the US and the Taliban, two decades after US forces removed the militants from power in 2001.
The suddenness of the Taliban's advance sparked a rush to escape the country, with tens of thousands of Afghans and foreign civilians attempting to board flights at Kabul airport.
When the Taliban previously held power between 1996 and 2001, Afghanistan was banned from participating in the Olympics because of the militants' discrimination against women and prohibition of sports of any kind.
As soon as areas across the country began falling to the Taliban, Mr Mansouri sought ways to escape Afghanistan.
After a harrowing wait, he managed to secure an flight out with several members of his family. But, like so many others, Mr Mansouri is wracked with concern for those who have been left behind.
“It is really difficult. We have all cried, days and nights, about this situation,” said Mr Mansouri.
Mr Mansouri said he is in touch with other elite athletes who are among the thousands still trying to leave.
“One athlete I know has been going to the airport in Kabul for several days. He said that he was hurt, he tried to get near the airport but he was badly injured.”
Relieved that he and his immediate family are safe, Mr Mansouri still faces an uncertain future. At just 19, his dreams of continuing to represent Afghanistan are crushed.
He now faces the challenge of trying to find a new home for him and his family.
Mr Mansouri has a brother with British citizenship who lives in the UK, but it is not clear that he will be accepted under the UK’s current resettlement scheme.
“Right now it's not clear, but I want to go to a country that can support me and my family, and of course, I want to keep up my sport.”
At only 19, there are no limits as to what Mr Mansouri can achieve. In 2018 and 2019 he topped the podium in the Korean and Indian junior opens, respectively, and in 2019 he picked up a silver medal in the Asian Junior Taekwondo Championship in Amman.
However, like so many other Afghan athletes, Mr Mansouri’s energies will now be focused on finding a place where he and his family can live safely and free from persecution.
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh1,100,000 (est)
Engine 5.2-litre V10
Gearbox seven-speed dual clutch
Power 630bhp @ 8,000rpm
Torque 600Nm @ 6,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined 15.7L / 100km (est)
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
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If you go
The flights
Emirates (www.emirates.com) and Etihad (www.etihad.com) both fly direct to Bengaluru, with return fares from Dh 1240. From Bengaluru airport, Coorg is a five-hour drive by car.
The hotels
The Tamara (www.thetamara.com) is located inside a working coffee plantation and offers individual villas with sprawling views of the hills (tariff from Dh1,300, including taxes and breakfast).
When to go
Coorg is an all-year destination, with the peak season for travel extending from the cooler months between October and March.
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
In numbers
Number of Chinese tourists coming to UAE in 2017 was... 1.3m
Alibaba’s new ‘Tech Town’ in Dubai is worth... $600m
China’s investment in the MIddle East in 2016 was... $29.5bn
The world’s most valuable start-up in 2018, TikTok, is valued at... $75bn
Boost to the UAE economy of 5G connectivity will be... $269bn
Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
If you go
The Flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct to Johannesburg from Dubai and Abu Dhabi respectively. Economy return tickets cost from Dh2,650, including taxes.
The trip
Worldwide Motorhoming Holidays (worldwidemotorhomingholidays.co.uk) operates fly-drive motorhome holidays in eight destinations, including South Africa. Its 14-day Kruger and the Battlefields itinerary starts from Dh17,500, including campgrounds, excursions, unit hire and flights. Bobo Campers has a range of RVs for hire, including the 4-berth Discoverer 4 from Dh600 per day.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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