Rohullah Nikpai after winning Afghanistan's first-ever Olympic medal, a bronze, in taekwondo (Shaun Botterill/Getty Images )
Yet as the 2008 Beijing Olympics end, Afghanistan as the nation formerly was, and the nation it wishes to be, can rally around one unifying achievement: Rohullah Nikpai winning bronze in the men's under-58kg class of taekwondo. It's not just Afghanistan's only medal at these Olympics. It's Afghanistan's first-ever medal at any Olympics since the country sent a delegation to Berlin in 1936. (In the Middle East, Bahrain, too, got its first-ever medal, a gold in the 1,500m.)
Nikpai's early reaction? "I hope this will send a message of peace to my country after 30 years of war."
Afghanistan won their first Olympic medal Wednesday, when Rohullah Nikpai defeated world champion Juan Antonio Ramos of Spain to take the bronze in the men's under 58-kilogram taekwondo competition. Just 21 years old, cherubic-faced, flashy and and as wily as Kabul's famous kite duelists, Nikpai, a Hazara Afghan, has been at the sport since he was 10, finding in it an escape from Afghanistan's more lethal battles. He defeated Spain's Juan Antonio Ramos, a world champion, 4-1 for the bronze and won himself a $50,000 prize from a mobile phone company in Afghanistan.
It's too much to expect sports to do what diplomacy, culture, war, guilt and sheer exhaustion haven't: unify a country. It's silly to put that much expectation on sports, anyway, though at this point in Afghanistan, anyone should be excused to wish that an unlikely medal would also symbolize an unlikely break in the carnage.
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Comments
CONGRATLIATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WE ARE ABSOLUTLY PROUD OF ROHULLAH NIKPAI
FOR HIS ACHIEVMENT AND FOR GETTING THE MEDAL…….
WE ARE VERY VERY HAPPY TO SEE HIM STEP INTO THE 2008 OLYMPIC… AND WISH YOU ALL THE BEST AND A SUCCESSFUL FUTURE….
LOTS AND LOTS OF CONGRATS FROM EVERYONE AROUND THE WORLD FOR ROHULLAH…………..
GOOD LUCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK
Ditto that! I share your enthusiasm, and I’m not even Afghan (though in this case, I am!)
Many congratulations for our hero. Long live Peaceful Hazaras all around the world. Hope Peace would prevail in Afghanistan soon. Lets pray. Peace all around the World.
I want to say few more things.
Saudi Arabia is the reason for all misfortunes in many countries. And Iran is the other country which causes this to happen. I hope both of these countries learn their lessons soon.
A Peaceful World for all of us. Best Regards .
From Powerful Shaman master of the wind
Bravo Bro, we proud of you Nikpai, and hope you all the best in your life. Our heros are proving that we Afghan Hazara’s have the ability to show the world our talent, and give them the message (afghans are a proud nation).
Well done My Dear Rohullah you won the first olympic medal after decades of war in our land I pround of you bro, we all should try to be exemple in our countery among all, we are the best people and quick learner.
Regards
Nikzaad