Afghans Know Their Martial Arts!

Based on the results of the 2010 South Asian Games (currently being held in Bangladesh), Afghanistan definitely has some skilled martial artists.  In fact, the majority of the medals won so far have been in some sort of martial art.  Two more gold medals were added to the total medal count when Mohammad Tamim and Sayed Mohammad both won gold medals in Karate today. Mohammad Tamim won in the Under 60 group and Sayed Mohammad won in the Under 67 group. Besides these two gold medals, a total of 8 additional medals were won in such sports as Taekwondo, Wushu, and Boxing.  The highest medal in Boxing for Afghanistan came from Mohammad Aref when he won silver today.  Outside of martial arts, the Afghan football team won a silver medal today.

The total medal count is now 32, with 7 of them being gold.

Table shows all the medals won so far (as of February 8, 2010):

Sport Event Athletes Medal Date
Basketball Men’s Basketball Team GOLD Feb 5th
Karate Under 60 Mohammad Tamim GOLD Feb 8th
Karate Under 67 Sayed Mohammad GOLD Feb 8th
Taekwondo Under 74 KG Sayed Massoud Hashemi GOLD Feb 7th
Wrestling Up to 60 KG Abdul Karim Wakedi GOLD Feb 7th
Taekwondo Under 63 KG Mohammad Haidari GOLD Feb 6th
Taekwondo Under 68 KG Sayed Hasan Rezai GOLD Feb 6th
Boxing Up to 48 KG Mohammad Aref SILVER Feb 8th
Football Men’s Football Team SILVER Feb 8th
Karate Under 61 Zainab SILVER Feb 8th
Taekwondo Under 46 KG Laila Hussein SILVER Feb 6th
Wushu Under – 48 Zahara Orya SILVER Feb 6th
Wushu San Shou: Under-60 Amir Shah Amiri SILVER Feb 6th
Wushu Under – 60 Suraya Salahshur SILVER Feb 6th
Wrestling Up to 84 KG Toryalai SILVER Feb 6th
Wrestling Up to 74 KG Noor Ahmad Ahmadi SILVER Feb 7th
Boxing Feather Weight Khwajah Khalid Bronze Feb 8th
Boxing Light Weight Mohammad Azia Bronze Feb 8th
Boxing Light Welter Weight Khwaza Fayaz Bronze Feb 8th
Judo Under 66 KG Zabiullah Nazabi BRONZE Feb 1st
Judo Under 90KG Muhammad Tawfiq BRONZE Jan 31st
Judo Over 100 KG Afgun Zargulin BRONZE Feb 1st
Judo Under 60 KG Mohammad Reza Abdul Hali BRONZE Feb 1st
Taekwondo Under 87 KG Shahabuddin BRONZE Feb 8th
Taekwondo Under 53 KG Hassina Majboor BRONZE Feb 8th
Taekwondo Under 86 KG Abas Hasani BRONZE Feb 7th
Weightlifting Up to 77 KG Muhammad Mustafa Kamma BRONZE Feb 1st
Wrestling Up to 96 KG Sayed Khalid Hashemi BRONZE Feb 7th
Wushu Taijii Quan Khawza N. A. Khatibzada BRONZE Feb 8th
Wushu San Shou: Under-70 Taza Gul Logari BRONZE Feb 6th
Wushu Under – 52 Mary Danishyar BRONZE Feb 6th
Wushu San Shou: Under-65 Mohammad Mahfouz Wafa BRONZE Feb 6th

—

February 8, 2010 · admin · No Comments
Posted in: Afghan Sports News

Afghanistan wins GOLD in Wrestling

SAG Wrestling Logo

Abdul Karim Wakedi won Afghanistan’s first gold medal in Wrestling, and Sayed Massoud Hashemi won Afghanistan’s third gold medal in Taekwondo, in this year’s South Asian Games (SAG) currently being held Bangladesh.

Other winners:

– Noor Ahmad Ahmad won a silver in Wrestling
– Sayed Khalid Hashemi won a bronze in Wresting
– Abas Hasani won a bronze in Taekwondo

Afghanistan added a total of 5 medals today to bring their total count up to 21.

See full medal count (as of February 7, 2010) below:

Sport Event Athletes Medal Date
Taekwondo Under 74 KG Sayed Massoud Hashemi GOLD Feb 7th
Wrestling Up to 60 KG Abdul Karim Wakedi GOLD Feb 7th
Taekwondo Under 63 KG Mohammad Haidari GOLD Feb 6th
Basketball Men’s Basketball Team GOLD Feb 5th
Taekwondo Under 68 KG Sayed Hasan Rezai GOLD Feb 6th
Taekwondo Under 46 KG Laila Hussein SILVER Feb 6th
Wushu Under – 48 Zahara Orya SILVER Feb 6th
Wushu San Shou: Under-60 Amir Shah Amiri SILVER Feb 6th
Wushu Under – 60 Suraya Salahshur SILVER Feb 6th
Wrestling Up to 84 KG Toryalai SILVER Feb 6th
Wrestling Up to 74 KG Noor Ahmad Ahmadi SILVER Feb 7th
Judo Under 66 KG Zabiullah Nazabi BRONZE Feb 1st
Judo Under 90KG Muhammad Tawfiq BRONZE Jan 31st
Judo Over 100 KG Afgun Zargulin BRONZE Feb 1st
Wushu Under – 52 Mary Danishyar BRONZE Feb 6th
Wushu San Shou: Under-65 Mohammad Mahfouz Wafa BRONZE Feb 6th
Judo Under 60 KG Mohammad Reza Abdul Hali BRONZE Feb 1st
Wrestling Up to 96 KG Sayed Khalid Hashemi BRONZE Feb 7th
Weightlifting Up to 77 KG Muhammad Mustafa Kamma BRONZE Feb 1st
Taekwondo Under 86 KG Abas Hasani BRONZE Feb 7th
Wushu San Shou: Under-70 Taza Gul Logari BRONZE Feb 6th

—

February 7, 2010 · admin · No Comments
Posted in: Afghan Sports News

Afghanistan adds more medals to their count!

SAG Taekwondo Logo

Afghanistan added 2 more gold medals, 5 silver medals, and 3 more bronze medals today in the 2010 South Asian Games (SAG) being held in Bangladesh.  The total medal count is now 16. In the sport of Taekwondo, Mohammad Haidari won a gold in the Under 63KG group, and Sayed Hasan Rezai won a gold in the Under 68KG group.  Afghanistan also now has a few women medal winners.

See full medal count (as of February 6, 2010) below:

Sport Event Athletes Medal Date
Taekwondo Under 63 KG Mohammad Haidari GOLD Feb 6th
Basketball Men’s Basketball Team GOLD Feb 5th
Taekwondo Under 68 KG Sayed Hasan Rezai GOLD Feb 6th
Wrestling Up to 84 KG Toryalai SILVER Feb 6th
Taekwondo Under 46 KG Laila Hussein SILVER Feb 6th
Wushu San Shou: Under-60 Amir Shah Amiri SILVER Feb 6th
Wushu Under – 48 Zahara Orya SILVER Feb 6th
Wushu Under – 60 Suraya Salahshur SILVER Feb 6th
Judo Under 90KG Muhammad Tawfiq BRONZE Jan 31st
Wushu Under – 52 Mary Danishyar BRONZE Feb 6th
Judo Under 66 KG Zabiullah Nazabi BRONZE Feb 1st
Weightlifting Up to 77 KG Muhammad Mustafa Kamma BRONZE Feb 1st
Judo Over 100 KG Afgun Zargulin BRONZE Feb 1st
Judo Under 60 KG Mohammad Reza Abdul Hali BRONZE Feb 1st
Wushu San Shou: Under-65 Mohammad Mahfouz Wafa BRONZE Feb 6th
Wushu San Shou: Under-70 Taza Gul Logari BRONZE Feb 6th

.

February 6, 2010 · admin · No Comments
Posted in: Afghan Sports News

Afghan basketball team wins GOLD, and the football team gets a lot closer!

It’s an exciting day for Afghan sports fans all over the world.

The Golden Boys - Afghanistan's National Basketball Team

How sweet it is! 

First the Afghan basketball team beat Pakistan, then Sri Lanka, then India, and in the semi-finals they crushed Nepal 104 to 36. Today, Afghanistan did it once again, and beat India one more time to win a gold medal in basketball in the 2010 South Asian Games (SAG) being held in Bangladesh.

The total medal count for Afghanistan now is 6.  1 gold (basketball), and 5 bronze medals (4 in Judo and 1 in weightlifting).

But wait, there’s more!

In football, the Afghan team beat Maldives 1-0 to make it to the finals.  Once again, Belal Arezou scored the winning goal for the Afghan team.  Afghanistan will now play against host country Bangladesh in the finals scheduled for February 8th.

Earlier reports

February 5, 2010 · admin · No Comments
Posted in: Afghan Sports News

These Afghans were born to play cricket!

Afghan player Karim Sadiq (in blue)

The Afghan cricket team put on another stunning performance and beat Canada in five wickets in the four nation Twenty20 cricket tournament today.

Canada Innings: 140 for 6 in 20 overs (A. M. Samad 26, A. Bagai 53, H. Hasan 2 for 27).

Afghanistan Innings: 143 for 5 in 19.5 overs (K. Sadiq 42, N. Ali 31, M. Nabi 23, H. S. Baidwan 3 for 23).

The Twenty20 Qualifier tournament will begin on February 9th in the United Arab Emirates, and Afghanistan is scheduled to go up against the United States.  What an interesting match!

February 4, 2010 · admin · No Comments
Posted in: Afghan Sports News

Decrease in violence and abuse against women and children

Afghan woman sewing

Arzu TV (based in Balkh, Afghanistan), citing the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, reported today that in Afghanistan’s northern regions “there has been a 13 per cent decrease in the number of cases of violence against women and a 30 per cent decrease in child abuse cases in 2009″.  The Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission is an organisation whose vision is to help transform Afghanistan into a place where human rights are respected, promoted and individual rights are protected.

February 4, 2010 · admin · One Comment
Posted in: Human Rights, Women's Rights

More Schools Open

Students in a class in Helmand Province Photo: Tasal/IRIN

Quoting officials from Afghanistan’s Ministry of Education, a UN agency reported today that over the past year, dozens of schools have reopened in the southern province of Helmand.  General insecurity and Taliban attacks had forced many of the schools to close. The Ministry officials said that they worked both with local leaders (religious and tribal elders), and with the Taliban to get the schools to open and remain free from attacks.  In related news, the construction of a 16-room High School (Emal Khan High School) was completed in the Muhmandara district of Nangahar province.  Nangahar is located in eastern Afghanistan.

February 4, 2010 · admin · No Comments
Posted in: Education

State-Of-The-Art Radar System at Kabul Airport

Ambassador Eikenberry and Acting Minister Batash learn about the state-of-the-art features of Kabul International Airport’s new radar system

Flying just got a lot safer in Afghanistan!  Karl W. Eikenberry, U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan, and Mohammadullah Batash, Acting Minister of Transportation inaugurated a state-of-the-art radar system at Kabul International Airport today.   The new system will enable air traffic controllers to see aircraft within 120 miles of Kabul.  The official press release from the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan states: “In addition to improving safety for passengers traveling to and from Kabul, the radar facility will also increase the capacity of the airport, allowing 24-hour, 7-days-a-week aircraft operations in all but the most extreme weather. ”  Click here to read the official press release.

February 3, 2010 · admin · No Comments
Posted in: Reconstruction and Development

More Afghans now with access to electricity

Radio Rabia Balkhi (from Balkh, Afghanistan) reported today that two power supply projects in the Pashtoonkot district of Faryab province have been completed; this will provide 1000 families with access to electricity.  Furthermore,  Ariana TV reported today that the Asian Bank will finance an electricity project to bring power to various southern provinces.

February 3, 2010 · admin · No Comments
Posted in: Reconstruction and Development

Afghan football team wins again at SAG

Belal Arezou

Afghanistan’s football (soccer) team is turning heads at the 2010 South Asian Games (SAG).  On the opening day of the football competitions, they defeated India 1-0 and then went on to defeat the Pakistani team with a score of 2-1.  Today, they did it again by shutting out Sri Lanka 2-0.  They are the group “B” champions and will play in the semi-finals.  Much of the credit goes to Belal Arezou who actually scored all five of Afghanistan’s goals in the three group matches so far.

February 2, 2010 · admin · 3 Comments
Posted in: Afghan Sports News

New Kuchi Hospital Inaugurated

Dr. Suraya Daleel at the inauguration

Dr. Suraya Daleel, Acting Minister of Public Health, inaugurated a well-equipped, 30-bed hospital in the Puli-Charkhi area of Kabul city today.  The hospital should satisfy the health services needs of more than 120,000 Kuchis.  Kuchis are a nomadic people in Afghanistan and they live very difficult lives.  The land to build the hospital on was donated by Haji Janat Gul Khan, a well known Kuchi leader.  Numerous Kuchi leaders were present for the inauguration, and they thanked the Ministry’s efforts in getting the hospital built.

February 1, 2010 · admin · No Comments
Posted in: Health News, Reconstruction and Development

Afghanistan increases medal count to 5

South Asian Games Logo

In the 2010 (11th) South Asian Games currently being held in Bangladesh, Afghans picked up 4 more bronze medals – 3 in judo and 1 in weightlifting. In judo, Muhammad Reza Abdul Ali won in the Under 60 KG group, Zabi Ullah Nazabi in the Under 66 KG group, and Afgun Zargulin in the Over 100 KG group. In weightlifting, Muhammad Mustafa Kamma won the bronze in the Up to 77 KG group.  Previously, Mohammad Tawfiq won a bronze medal in judo in the Under 90 KG group. This puts Afghanistan’s total medal count so far at 5.

February 1, 2010 · admin · No Comments
Posted in: Afghan Sports News