Afghan fitness athletes return home with 4 bronze medals

KABUL (Pajhwok): The national bodybuilding and fitness team returned to the country after winning four bronze medals at the Asian Bodybuilding and Fitness Championship in Thailand and was honored by the National Olympic Committee.

At a ceremony in this regard, Noorullah Sherzad, head coach of Afghan national bodybuilding and fitness team, said that the 57th Asian Bodybuilding and Fitness Championships, hosted by Thailand, was held from August 18 to 25, and athletes from 28 countries participated in it.

Sherzad explained six athletes from Afghanistan participated in the competition and won four bronze medals.

In these competitions, Baitullah Zadran won a bronze medal in the youth category with 75kg weight, Naib Mubarez won a bronze medal in the adult category, and Yasir Samir Ehsan won two bronze medals in the positive 75kg and 100 kg weight categories.

“It is a source of great joy that despite limited opportunities and difficulties, Afghan athletes are shining among their rivals and winning medals,” head of National Olympic Committee Dad Mohammad Payenda Akhtari added.

According to him, this is not the first time that bodybuilding and fitness athletes have won medals at international competitions, but they have also won honors for Afghanistan before.

He urged players and coaches to focus on sports ethics, national unity, and the principle of mutual acceptance, in addition to achievements.

Baitullah Zadran, who won bronze medal, told Pajhwok that he had been preparing for these matches for several months and was happy to have achieved a good result.

“There are many good athletes in the field of bodybuilding in Afghanistan, but they are unable to participate in international competitions due to economic problems,” he said, calling on the National Olympic Committee to support them.

Yasir Samir Ehsan, another player, explained he was happy to have won two bronze medals in two different weight categories.

“No matter how much money athletes have, they still need sponsors,” he said and he asked the country’s businessmen to provide financial support to them.

In the 57th Asian Bodybuilding and Fitness Championships, Thailand won first place, India second place, and Malaysia third place.

hz/ma