| Afghanistan at the Olympics | |
|---|---|
 | |
| IOC code | AFG |
| NOC | Afghanistan National Olympic Committee |
| Medals Ranked 147th |
|
| Summer appearances | |
Afghanistan has competed in 15 Summer Games. They have never appeared in any Winter Games. The country made its first appearance at the Berlin Games in 1936. It has sent a delegation to 14 of the 19 subsequent Summer Games since then. It is organised by the Afghanistan National Olympic Committee, which is currently presided by Nazar Mohammad Mutmaeen.
The country made its first appearance at the Berlin Games in 1936.
Afghanistan competed at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, sending a total of 31 competitors, which consisted of the men's field hockey and football teams. This is the highest number of athletes that Afghanistan has ever sent to a Summer Olympic Games.
Afghanistan's football tournament culminated in Afghanistan being defeated 6-0 against Luxembourg, and they failed to qualify to the first round of the tournament. At the men's field hockey tournament won one match, drew one match and lost one match, resulting in placing third of four competing teams, with 3 points. Therefore, Afghanistan did not proceed to the semi-finals, finishing third in their respective group.
In the following 1952 Games at Helsinki, Afghanistan did not participate. However, Afghanistan returned for the 1956 Games at Melbourne, sending a team of 12 for the men's field hockey tournament, with six of the competitors on the team having participated previously in 1948.
Afghanistan did not send a team, sending an official to the Barcelona Games in 1992, and sent only two representatives to the Atlanta Games in 1996: light-middleweight boxer Mohammad Jawid Aman was disqualified after he arrived too late for the mandatory weigh-in and draw, which left marathon runner Abdul Baser Wasiqi as the country's sole representative. Wasiqi pulled a hamstring before the race, but competed nonetheless, limping his way through the marathon and finishing last. [1]
The ANOC was suspended by the IOC in 1999, and Afghanistan were subsequently banned from the Sydney Games in 2000 for discrimination against women under the rule of the Taliban and prohibition of sports of any kind. The country was re-instated in 2002 following the fall of the Taliban, [2] and sent five representatives to the Athens Games in 2004.
Among them were two women, Robina Muqim Yaar and Friba Razayee, the first ever women to compete for Afghanistan at the Olympics. [3]
Afghanistan sent a team of four competitors, [4] including three men and one woman, Mehboba Ahdyar, [5] to the 2008 Beijing Games. Ahdyar received death threats due to her intended participation in the Games. [4]
Afghanistan won their first summer Olympic medal during the 2008 Beijing Games, with Rohullah Nikpai winning a bronze in men's Taekwondo 58 kg, and their second at the 2012 Games with another bronze for Nikpai in the men's 68kg taekwondo event. [6]
Afghanistan returned for a fourth consecutive games, at Rio de Janeiro in 2016. Rohullah Nikpai, who had earned a medal at the two previous games in taekwando did not return. Instead, three athletes were sent, competing in two sports - Athletics and Judo. None of the athletes managed to progress and qualify further in their events. Despite finishing last in the women's 100 metres, Kamia Yousufi became Afghanistan's national record holder with 14.02 seconds, which was also at her Olympic debut. [7] She also ran her preliminary heat in a full-body kit and hijab. [8]
In April 2021, the ANOC announced that Fahim Anwari will become the first swimmer to represent Afghanistan at the Olympics. [9] [10] [11] Afghanistan received an invitation from the Tripartite Commission to send a men's rifle shooter, Mahdi Yovari, marking the nation's Olympic debut in the sport. [12]
Afghanistan's status for future participation is unclear amid the political turmoil and the Taliban's return to power in August 2021. [13] A decision for Afghanistan's participation in the upcoming 2024 Summer Olympics will be decided in the coming months.
| Games | Athletes | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1936 Berlin | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1948 London | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1952 Helsinki | did not participate | |||||
| 1956 Melbourne | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1960 Rome | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1964 Tokyo | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1968 Mexico City | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1972 Munich | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1976 Montreal | did not participate | |||||
| 1980 Moscow | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1984 Los Angeles | Boycotted | |||||
| 1988 Seoul | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1992 Barcelona | did not participate | |||||
| 1996 Atlanta | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2000 Sydney | banned from participating | |||||
| 2004 Athens | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2008 Beijing | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 82 |
| 2012 London | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 79 |
| 2016 Rio de Janeiro | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2020 Tokyo | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2024 Paris | future event | |||||
| 2028 Los Angeles | ||||||
| 2032 Brisbane | ||||||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 145 | |
| Sport | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Taekwondo | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Totals (1 entries) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Note: Afghanistan was banned from the Olympics in 2000 for the Taliban regime's discrimination against women at the time.
| Medal | Name | Games | Sport | Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Bronze | Rohullah Nikpai | 2008 Beijing |  Taekwondo | Men's 58 kg |
| Bronze | 2012 London | Taekwondo | Men's 68 kg |
Friba Rezayee, is an Afghan judoka, who is perhaps best known as one of the first two women athletes from Afghanistan to compete in the Summer Olympics. The Taliban controlling most of Afghanistan had caused the country to be banned from the Olympics in 1999 due to discrimination against women under Taliban rule as well as its prohibition of sports of any kind, and thus missed out on the Sydney Olympics of the year 2000. In June 2003, the IOC lifted the suspension imposed on Afghanistan during the 115th IOC Session in Prague, and the country sent a delegation of five competitors to the Athens Games in 2004. Rezayee and Robina Muqimyar were two women contingents in the delegation, becoming the first ever women to compete for Afghanistan at the Olympics.
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