GHAZNI (SW) – Bamyan has hosted the maiden three-day ski training session, but without the usual participation of women athletes since the rise to power of the Islamic Emirate in Afghanistan.
For the first time since the rise to power of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, a three-day ski competition without the participation of women skiers was organized by the National Ski Federation with the financial cooperation of the Department of Physical Education in which about 50 skiers from Bamyan, Ghazni and Kabul provinces participated.
Davood Kargar, head of the National Ski Federation, said on the occasion the purpose of the training was to identify the top skiers and introduce them to the 2022 Olympic Games in China and the 30th round of the Asian Ski Championships in Lebanon.
The official of the National Ski Federation confirmed that no female skiers took part in these exercises.
But, according to him, the officials of the Islamic Emirate have said that in the future, according to Islamic law, they will provide the ground for the presence of women in sports, including skiing.
We also wanted to report the views of female skiers in this regard, but they refused to talk due to some concerns.
Meanwhile, Shah Agha Rezaei, a Bamyan skier, said that women skiers were interested in participating in the exercises, but, according to him, the Islamic Emirate prevented them from attending the exercises.
The skier also complained about the lack of technical facilities for skiing.
According to Rezaei, lack of support from the Islamic Emirate has reduced the enthusiasm and motivation of Bamyan youth for winter sports, especially skiing.
Milad Ahmad Niazi, a skier from Ghazni province who took part in the exercise, also said that Bamyan, a cold, snow-covered province with hospitable people, is a good place to practice any sport, including skiing. He called on the Islamic Emirate to provide support to athletes and to enable them to compete abroad.
According to the officials of the National Ski Federation, the 2022 Winter Olympics will be held in China in February, in which four athletes from Afghanistan have been nominated. The 30th round of the Asian Ski Championships in Lebanon will be held on February 22, and four skiers and a coach from Afghanistan will take part in it.
The “Afghan Ski Challenge” was held in Bamyan with the participation of dozens of male and female skiers from different countries last year.
However, this year, following the recent political and security developments and the rise to power of the Islamic Emirate women skiers of this province are not seen in the ski fields.
ENDS
