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 Rohullah Nikpai

Rohullah Nikpai, at a young age of only 10 started his Taekwondo training in Kabul, Afghanistan. Things began to get rough when ethnic afghan warlords began having a fierce battle over the capital city of Kabul. Nikpai's family left the war torn city and settled in one of Iran's many Afghan refugee camps. It wasn't long after that he continued his Olympic dream and became a member of the Afghan refugee Taekwondo team. After the fall of the Taliban, he returned to Kabul in 2004 and continued his training at the government provided Olympic training facility. In preparation for the Olympics he fought at many tournaments, one of the biggest being the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, Qatar. At these games he competed in the flyweight division where he was defeated by eventual Beijing Olympic silver medalist, Nattapong Tewawetchapong of Thailand in round 16.

Finally he was able to compete in the 2008 Beijing Olympics which he was training for most of his Taekwondo career. Nikpai competed in the 58 kg (128 lbs) division defeating many countries including two-time world champion Juan Antonio Ramos of Spain to win the bronze medal. It was at that moment that he knew what he had accomplished making him this first Afghan to ever win an Olympic medal in any event. Soon after his victory Afghanistan's president Hamid Karzai called to congratulate Nikpai and award him with a beautiful house at the government's expense.
 

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