Six athletes named on Refugee Paralympic Team for Tokyo 2020 Games

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) have announced the six athletes who will represent the Refugee Paralympic Team at Tokyo 2020 in 2021.

The names of the athletes, including one woman and five men, are Ibrahim Al Hussein, Alia Issa, Parfait Hakizimana, Abbas Karimi, Shahrad Nasajpour and Anas Al Khalifa. They will compete in Para Athletics, Para Swimming, Para Canoe and Taekwondo under the IPC flag, and will be the first team to enter Tokyo’s Olympic Stadium during the Opening Ceremony on 24 August.

President of the International Paralympic Committee, Andrew Parsons, welcomed the announcement of the Refugee Paralympic Team and the power of sport to promote the inclusion of refugees with disabilities in society.

“I would urge people everywhere to support the world’s most courageous sports team, the Refugee Paralympic Team,” he said. “These athletes exemplify how change starts with sport: they have suffered life-changing injuries, fled for their safety and undertaken dangerous journeys, but despite the many barriers put in their way, they have become elite athletes ready to compete at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

“Sport is a powerful tool to include refugees with disabilities in society and the announcement of the Refugee Paralympic Team is a poignant moment for the IPC – we are delivering on a commitment we made at the UNHCR Global Refugee Forum in 2019 to promote equal participation in sporting events for refugees.”