There, Alizadeh became the first woman from Iran to win an Olympic medal. The taekwondo player strutted out in Tokyo as one of the 29 members of the Olympic Refugee Team. So, as an International Olympic Committee Refugee Athlete Scholarship holder, she made it to Tokyo on the Refugee Team, which made its first appearance in Rio five years ago. As for Alizadeh, it was fate that her first bout as a refugee athlete saw her being pitted against an Iranian. In a politically charged clash, which had all the makings for a movie script, the refugee athlete used her superior physical strength to record an easy 18-9 win.

Source: Indian Express July 25, 2021 17:15 UTC