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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Afghan black belt eyes Olympic medal | Afghan black belt eyes Olympic medal |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| By Alastair Leithead BBC News, Kabul | By Alastair Leithead BBC News, Kabul |
| Bahawe is Afghanistan's best hope for an Olympic medal | Bahawe is Afghanistan's best hope for an Olympic medal |
| A strange cacophony of muffled thumps and high-pitched screams drifts down the dark, newly-concreted stairs as you climb up through a building site to the almost-finished taekwondo gym on the edge of the Afghan capital, Kabul. | |
| It's a big improvement from the old hut where its members used to train, but there are still no showers. | |
| Towering above the 40 or so young Afghans shouting out with every punch and kick is Nisar Ahmad Bahawe - Afghanistan's champion taekwondoblack belt and, at 23, the country's best hope for an Olympic medal. | |
| He stands out as being taller, quicker and more agile than the others as they fight their way in pairs down the length of the room, spinning kicks and blocking punches. | He stands out as being taller, quicker and more agile than the others as they fight their way in pairs down the length of the room, spinning kicks and blocking punches. |
| Nisar is already a proven world class black belt and he has qualified for Beijing on his own merit rather than through a wild-card system. | Nisar is already a proven world class black belt and he has qualified for Beijing on his own merit rather than through a wild-card system. |
| 'Make history' | 'Make history' |
| He won a silver medal at last year's world championships and is confident he could bring home a medal this month. | He won a silver medal at last year's world championships and is confident he could bring home a medal this month. |
| "It's very important for us because Afghanistan has never won an Olympic medal before," he said in a break during the six-hour training he has been doing every day for months. | "It's very important for us because Afghanistan has never won an Olympic medal before," he said in a break during the six-hour training he has been doing every day for months. |
| "We want to make history and fly our flag in front of the world." | "We want to make history and fly our flag in front of the world." |
| Bahawe is training hard for the Olympics | Bahawe is training hard for the Olympics |
| Taekwondo is a Korean martial art, brought to Kabul by an American master in 1972. | Taekwondo is a Korean martial art, brought to Kabul by an American master in 1972. |
| The Olympic committee sent Nisar to South Korea for training with another Olympic hopeful, also trying his chances in Beijing, and they brought a new coach back with them. | The Olympic committee sent Nisar to South Korea for training with another Olympic hopeful, also trying his chances in Beijing, and they brought a new coach back with them. |
| There are now 700 clubs in Afghanistan and with 25,000 competitors it is one of the most popular sports in the country. | There are now 700 clubs in Afghanistan and with 25,000 competitors it is one of the most popular sports in the country. |
| It will be even more popular if the best in the country can become the best in the world. | It will be even more popular if the best in the country can become the best in the world. |
| The president of the Afghanistan National Olympic Committee is Mohammad Anwar Jekdelek, a barrel of a man who used to be a wrestler. | The president of the Afghanistan National Olympic Committee is Mohammad Anwar Jekdelek, a barrel of a man who used to be a wrestler. |
| He was due to compete in the 1980 Olympics, but with the Soviet invasion he described how instead he took to the mountains for 14 years to fight as a mujaheddin. | He was due to compete in the 1980 Olympics, but with the Soviet invasion he described how instead he took to the mountains for 14 years to fight as a mujaheddin. |
| 'Good example' | 'Good example' |
| He would be delighted to finally have an Olympic medal in the cabinet at the national stadium - especially after the female runner who was awarded a wild-card entry for the Beijing Games disappeared while training in Italy and is now applying for asylum. | He would be delighted to finally have an Olympic medal in the cabinet at the national stadium - especially after the female runner who was awarded a wild-card entry for the Beijing Games disappeared while training in Italy and is now applying for asylum. |
| "Bringing a medal home would help people come together as a country whatever tribe or ethnic group they are from," he said. | "Bringing a medal home would help people come together as a country whatever tribe or ethnic group they are from," he said. |
| "It would be a good example to young people so they will take up sport rather than taking drugs." | "It would be a good example to young people so they will take up sport rather than taking drugs." |
| Every day at five o'clock in the morning Nisar Ahmad Bahawe runs around Kabul Olympic Stadium - once a place where the Taleban carried out executions - now wanting to help it earn its title. | Every day at five o'clock in the morning Nisar Ahmad Bahawe runs around Kabul Olympic Stadium - once a place where the Taleban carried out executions - now wanting to help it earn its title. |
| There is a lot of hope and expectation riding on the young sportsmen gathering in Beijing, but perhaps even more so here in Afghanistan where people so desperately need a bit of good news for a change. | There is a lot of hope and expectation riding on the young sportsmen gathering in Beijing, but perhaps even more so here in Afghanistan where people so desperately need a bit of good news for a change. |