Farid Walizadeh, a 22-year-old Afghan refugee in Portugal, is fighting for a chance to box in the Tokyo2020 Olympics
LISBON - A young Afghan refugee living in Portugal is attempting to achieve in 10 months what normally takes years of preparation - qualifying to box in the Olympics.
“I’d lost my house, my childhood, my life ... but you can build everything again,” he said, speaking in English. Housed in an orphanage in Istanbul, the nine-year-old began practicing kung-fu and taekwondo to defend himself from bullies. After five years in Istanbul, the UN Refugee Agency relocated him to Portugal, where he was taken in by a non-profit organisation in Lisbon for unaccompanied minors seeking asylum.
In 2015, the International Olympic Committee created the world’s first Refugee Olympic Team for the Rio 2016 games.
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