Friba Rezayee, is a Hazara 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.
Afghanistan sent a team to compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. The team consisted of three men and one woman. Initially, Mehboba Ahdyar prepared to run the 800 metres and 1500 metres, but left her training camp on June 4 to seek political asylum in Norway. The country was represented by two competitors in athletics, and two in taekwondo. Afghanistan won its first ever Olympic medal at these games, with Rohullah Nikpai taking bronze in men's 58 kg taekwondo.
Robina Jalali, also known as Robina Muqimyar, is a former Olympic athlete who represented Afghanistan at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics and in 30 international events, competing in the 100-meter sprint. She competed athletically under the name Muqimyar and ran for a seat in the lower house of Afghanistan's parliament, the Wolesi Jirga, using her family name of Jalali.
Afghanistan first competed at the Paralympic Games during the 1996 Summer Paralympics in Atlanta, where it was represented by cyclists Gul Afzal and Zabet Khan.
Afghanistan is a member of the Central Asian Zone of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), and has participated in the Asian Games since their inception in 1951. Afghanistan has also participated at the Asian Winter Games since 2007 but missed the 2017 edition held in Sapporo. The National Olympic Committee of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, established in 1935 and recognised by the International Olympic Committee in 1936, is the National Olympic Committee for Afghanistan. The Committee is currently in exile and presided by Hafizullah Wali Rahimi: the International Olympic Committee has not recognized the Taliban regime's Committee, headed by Nazar Mohammad Mutmaeen.
Taekwondo competitions at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London was held from 8 August to 11 August at the ExCeL London. Competition was held in eight weight categories; four for men, and four for women.
Afghanistan participated in the 2002 Asian Games held in Busan, South Korea, from September 29 to October 14, 2002. This marked Afghanistan's return to international sporting events after the fall of the Taliban regime. The Afghan delegation consisted of 12 officials and 44 competitors participating in seven different sports. The Afghanistan national football team played its first international match since the 1984 AFC Asian Cup qualification phase. An English teacher from Kabul, Roia Zamani, won a bronze medal in the 72 kg middleweight class of taekwondo without winning a single match. Zamani was the only medalist for the Afghan side and the first Afghan medalist in 20 years. None of the remaining athletes advanced past the qualifying stages.
Afghanistan competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom from 27 July to 12 August 2012. Six Afghan athletes were selected for the Games, competing in four different sporting events. Rohullah Nikpai, who won Afghanistan's first ever Olympic medal at the 2008 Games, managed to repeat his bronze medal in the men's 68 kg taekwondo event for the second time.
Cyprus competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's tenth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics.
Myanmar competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's sixteenth appearance at the Olympics, although it had previous competed in most editions under the name Burma. Myanmar did not attend the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal for political reasons.
Paraguay competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. Since the nation's official debut in 1968, Paraguayan athletes had appeared in every edition of the Summer Olympic Games, but did not attend the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow because of the nation's partial support for the US-led boycott.
Afghanistan competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. The country's participation at Rio de Janeiro marked its fourth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics and fourteenth in total. Afghanistan had officially made its debut in 1936 and missed five editions since then. Rohullah Nikpai, who had previously won a medal for Afghanistan in taekwondo, did not participate. In Rio, Afghanistan failed to earn a single Olympic medal for the first time since 2004.
Austria competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Originally scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020, the Olympic Games were postponed to 23 July to 8 August 2021, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the nation's twenty-eighth appearance at the Summer Olympics.
Albania (ALB) competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, represented by the Albanian National Olympic Committee (KOKSH). Originally scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020, the Games were postponed to 23 July to 8 August 2021, because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kosovo (KOS) competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, represented by the Olympic Committee of Kosovo (KOK/OKK). The nation had previously participated in the Summer Olympic Games on one occasion in 2016. A total of 11 athletes, five men and six women, were selected by the national committee to compete in six sports. Initially scheduled to take place during the summer of 2020, the games were postponed to 23 July to 8 August 2021 in relation to the pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Afghanistan competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Originally scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020, the Games were postponed to 23 July to 8 August 2021, because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fahim Anwari is an Afghan swimmer with two Afghan national records. He is a member of Afghanistan's national swimming team. During the COVID-19 pandemic in Afghanistan, Anwari trained at Qargha Lake. In April 2021, Afghanistan National Olympic Committee announced that Anwari will become the first swimmer to represent Afghanistan at the Olympics. Anwari received financial support from the IOC for his preparations for the Olympics.
Zakia Khudadadi also spelt as Zakia Khodadadi; is a Hazara parataekwondo practitioner. She is the first Afghan female taekwondo practitioner. She rose to prominence after winning the African International Parataekwondo Championship in 2016 at the age of 18. She represented Afghanistan at the 2020 Summer Paralympics. She was initially denied the opportunity to compete at her first Paralympics due to the Taliban takeover but was later allowed by the International Paralympic Committee to compete in the event after being safely evacuated from Afghanistan. She was able to compete and became the first Afghan female Paralympic competitor to compete at the Paralympics in 17 years since Mareena Karim's participation at the 2004 Summer Paralympics. She also officially became the first Afghan female sportsperson to participate in an international sporting event after the Taliban takeover and the first-ever member of the Refugee Paralympic Team to win a medal.
Afghanistan competed at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, its first Olympics since the return of Taliban rule in 2021 and the self-imposed exile of many of the country's leading athletes, especially women. It also marked the nation's sixteenth appearance in these games since 1936. The country did not participate in 1952, 1976, 1984, 1992, and 2000. Afghanistan has taken part in every recent Olympics since 2004. Afghanistan failed to win a medal at the Paris Olympics 2024.
