‘Afghanistan will be remembered as sports nation’

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, December 22

“A day will come when Afghanistan will be remembered as a sports nation and not as a war zone,” says Sayed Massod Karimi, Asian Games tae kwon do gold medallist.

He was celebrating with his teammates after winning the 4th International Taekwondo Championship held here.

Sayed strongly believes that sports can change the situation in his country. He said we get Rs 1,000 per month and had one training hall for the national tae kwon do team.

“We pay on our own to take part in the championships as the government grants funds only for Olympics and Asian games. Girls are risking their lives to play sports, but every time we move a bit, a bomb blast drags us back,” he said.

Despite all odds, Sayed says, “We don’t care if we have to borrow money to play sports because each time we win a medal, we make our nation proud,” said Sayed.

Leaving behind all odds, it is only the friendship of India because of which the Afghan team came for the championship, he said.