Inspired by the “extraordinary” rise of his country’s national futsal team, Mustafa beats the dawn every day to train in a busy sports complex in central Kabul.
The 21-year-old was proud to see Afghanistan play its first-ever FIFA Futsal World Cup in Uzbekistan this month, rubbing shoulders against top teams like Argentina, Paraguay and Ukraine.
“We feel extremely happy, it helps us to have a dream, and understand that nothing is impossible in our lives, and if we try hard for something we can achieve it,” he said, hinting at his goal of also representing his country one day.
Photo: AFP
In the group stage, Afghanistan beat Angola 6-4, conceded a hard-fought loss to the 2016 champions Argentina 2-1, and lost to Ukraine 4-1. It still booked its place in the knockout last 16 in the mega-event.
On Wednesday night, Afghanistan was knocked out 3-1 by Paraguay. Despite the loss, its men in white and red in Tashkent met with applause from hundreds of fired-up Afghan fans in the stadium, as seen live on a local Afghan television channel.
The World Cup campaign might have ended, but for young Afghans like Mustafa, the steady rise of the Afghan team has been a powerful motivator.
“When you see your team, with the national flag and national anthem reach to the top, it gives motivation to be organized and disciplined and chase your goals,” Mustafa said.
As the Taliban government has not been recognized by any other state, Afghanistan’s national athletes competing in international events carry the tricolor flag adopted by the former government, now banned by the Taliban.
As for the national anthem, it has effectively been banned too, as the Taliban has prohibited playing music in public, deeming it un-Islamic.
Still, “participating in the World Cup is a historic achievement. To be in the round of super 16 is a proud moment for all of us,” trainer Mahboob Saeedi said, agreeing with his enthusiastic pupil.
However, the infrastructure for the game does not match the passion for it in the war-torn country, which is facing one of the world’s worst humanitarian emergencies.
Professionals lament inadequate investment to provide standard grounds and finance the sport.
“We have great talents in Afghanistan, but we lack sports facilities and buildings, so we face a lot of problems,” said Abdul Ahad Rustamzada, manager of the Tolo Sports Complex.
“Youths cannot pay the [training] fees, yet we try our best to support them,” the 37-year-old said.
The stories of the Afghan national futsal team members are not so different from those of many enthusiasts of the game back home. They had to work in other professions to make ends meet, either in Afghanistan or in neighboring countries. The team had a preparation camp in Mashhad, in northeastern Iran, before flying to Tashkent for the World Cup.
“They have to work to provide the livelihood that their families expect from them, they cannot concentrate much on futsal training,” Mustafa said, hoping their showing at the event might grab some attention at the international level.
The Taliban have effectively banned women from sports and the country has seen the gradual implementation of an austere version of Islam that has forced entertainment out of public spaces.
Nevertheless, recent performances from Afghan athletes in sports like cricket, futsal and martial arts offer rare moments of joy in the otherwise somber country.
“In the current circumstances, Afghanistan making it to the super 16 is a big achievement,” Rustamzada said.
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and partner Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia yesterday advanced to the women’s doubles final at the Australian Open after defeating New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe and Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada 7-6 (7/3), 3-6, 6-3 in their semi-final. Hsieh has won nine Grand Slam doubles titles and has a shot at a 10th tomorrow, when the Latvian-Taiwanese duo are to play Taylor Townsend of the US and Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic in the championship match at the A$96.5 million (US$61 million) outdoor hard court tournament at Melbourne Park. Townsend and Siniakova eliminated Russian pair Diana Shnaider and Mirra Andreeva 6-7
The San Francisco Giants signed 18-year-old Taiwanese pitcher Yang Nien-hsi (陽念希) to a contract worth a total of US$500,000 (NT $16.39 million). At a press event in Taipei on Wednesday, Jan. 22, the Giants’ Pacific Rim Area scout Evan Hsueh (薛奕煌) presented Yang with a Giants jersey to celebrate the signing. The deal consisted of a contract worth US$450,000 plus a US$50,000 scholarship bonus. Yang, who stands at 188 centimeters tall and weighs 85 kilograms, is of Indigenous Amis descent. With his fastest pitch clocking in at 150 kilometers per hour, Yang had been on Hsueh’s radar since playing in the HuaNan Cup
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Coco Gauff’s dreams of a first women’s singles title in Melbourne were crushed in the quarter-finals by Paula Badosa. World No. 2 Alexander Zverev was ruffled by a stray feather in his men’s singles quarter-final, but he refocused to beat 12th seed Tommy Paul and reach the semi-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in 2 hours, 20 minutes to advance the semi-finals. Hsieh and Ostapenko converted eight of 14 break
Things are somewhat out of control at the Australian Open this year, and that has only a little to do with the results on the courts. Yes, there were some upsets, including Madison Keys eliminating No. 2 Iga Swiatek in the women’s singles semi-finals on Thursday. It also was the first time since 1990 that three teenagers beat top-10 men’s seeds at a Grand Slam tennis tournament. The loser of one of those matches, Daniil Medvedev, got fined US$76,000 for behaving badly. Last year’s women’s singles runner-up exited in the first round. However, the real fuss is happening elsewhere. The rowdy fans, for one
RSS