The Boy Who Won Afghanistan first Olympic medal

Syed Nazakat in Kabul

For Rohullah Nikpai, 21, his triumphant exit from Kabul International Airport will remain unforgettable. He had returned from the Beijing Olympics with Afghanistan’s first medal—a bronze in men’s 58kg taekwondo—and thousands of jubilant Afghans thronged the streets to greet him. Helicopters crisscrossed the Kabul sky showering leaflets with his picture. For once, Afghanistan was united. "It was wonderful and unbelievable,” an excited Nikpai told THE WEEK. "I come from a humble family and never thought I could achieve this." Coming from the marginalised Hazara community, he was touched by the countrywide jubilation. Prominently displayed in Nikpai’s house is a portrait of Abdul Ali Mazari—popularly known as the father of the Hazaras—who was butchered by the Taliban in March 1995.

Nikpai started learning taekwondo, a Korean martial art, when he was 10. Soon the Afghan civil war broke out and Nikpai's family fled to an Afghan refugee camp in Iran. Even in the camp Nikpai found time for practice, after attending school and helping with the family chores. In 2004, the family returned to Kabul, where he continued training. "Sometime in my sleep I feel my legs flying, trying to hit the target," he laughed. Definitely, it is this dedication that helped him defeat two-time world champion Juan Antonio Ramos of Spain at Beijing.

Life, surely, has changed for Nikpai after the Olympic bronze. “I cannot really go out and meet my friends,” he said. “People ask for my autograph.” He is also learning to drive the new Toyota Corolla gifted to him by the Alokozay tea company. Though other prizes and gifts have come through, he is yet to get the house promised by the Karzai government.

Training hard for the 2012 Olympics in London, Nikpai is aiming for gold. His greatest kick, he said, comes from hearing other Afghan sportsmen say: If Nikpai can do it, so can we.

(THE WEEK, November, 2008)