The Afghanistan women’s volleyball team is facing significant challenges with training conditions at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, expressing concerns about their readiness for the event, which they are participating in despite opposition from the country’s Taliban rulers.
Khushal Malakzai, who oversees Afghanistan’s volleyball program, revealed that the team has not had the opportunity to practice on a proper court since arriving in Hangzhou last Thursday. Instead, they have been confined to fitness work in the gym.
“We still haven’t been able to train,” Malakzai lamented in an interview with Reuters. “We need to have them training with the ball. I don’t know why they can’t have training for an hour or two when they have all these facilities. If they’re not training on court, then it’s like starting from zero.”
The team has been allocated only one training session two days before the women’s competition is set to begin on Saturday.
Typically, teams competing in major multi-sport events have the opportunity to train on regulation facilities multiple times before their events and often practice daily.
Hangzhou Games organizers explained that Afghanistan is not the only country facing training difficulties on a proper court, as the designated facility is not available until Thursday. They emphasized that, at this point, all participating countries are treated equally in terms of access to training facilities.
The plight of women’s sports in Afghanistan has faced severe challenges since the Taliban assumed control of the country in August 2021. This has led to many female athletes fleeing the country due to fears of persecution.
Despite these obstacles, Afghanistan’s exiled national Olympic committee, with the support of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and the International Olympic Committee, has sent 17 women to compete in various sports such as athletics, cycling, and volleyball at the Hangzhou Asian Games. The delegation marched at the opening ceremony carrying the country’s former tricolor flag, which is used by international resistance movements and has been shunned by the Taliban.
