Will promote sports if peace is achieved: Disabled athlete

TIRINKOT (Pajhwok): Noor Mohammad Ustad, who lost one of his legs in a bomb blast, owns a sports club and intends to open such facilities in districts of central Uruzgan province if peace is achieved in the country.

Ustad, 31, a resident of Dehrawud district of Uruzgan province, became disabled in a bomb blast in Arghandab district of Kandahar province eight years ago.

He was a driver on the Kandahar-Uruzgan highway before the blast hit him.

The victim of the ongoing conflict says after losing his leg he became hopeless and alone.

In an inclusive interview with Pajhwok Afghan News, Ustad said he faced financial problems after the incident which deteriorated his life.

“After I becoming disabled, my friends advised me to start exercise. I did the same and began exercising in Kandahar.”

Noor Mohammad Ustand said he started exercising at a body-building club in Kandahar and became a trainer there a few years later.

Ustand explained he returned to Uruzgan a few years later and opened a bodybuilding club in Tirinkot, where he had trained hundreds of athletes so far. He said currently he lived with a high morale and did not feel disability.

“I lost one of my legs to the barbaric war, if there was peace and security in the country I would have been a health person now and a good athlete,” he said.

However, he lost one part of his body parts but he did not lose hope and lived like other healthy people of society.

Noor Mohammad Ustad said lasting peace in the country was one of his dreams so no other youth get disabled.

“If I was not disabled, I would have become a better athlete, I would have made my country’s name known nationally and international and hoisted the national flag in world’s competitions,” he added.

He called on the warring parties to make peace and shun conflict in order to steer the country out of crises.

Noor Mohammad said there was a great opportunity for peace more than ever before, so the Afghan government and the Taliban in particular, should take advantage of it.

He asked: “Should the number of widows, orphans and the disabled in the country increase and they should live a miserable life?”

He promised he would open sports clubs in other parts of Uruzgan province to save the youth from drugs and other bad activities if lasting peace was established in the country.

Noor Mohammad is married and has four children (two sons and two daughters).

sa/ma

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