Afghan cyclist Fariba Hashimi, who fled the country after the Taliban’s return to power, won a brilliant silver in the women’s road race at the Asian Games and said she hoped her success story would inspire others to follow her path.
The 23-year-old had to disguise herself as a man during training for her own safety and was attacked with stones and bottles in her early years in the sport, before escaping Afghanistan alongside her sister, fellow professional cyclist Yulduz, after the Taliban retook control in 2021.
The sisters, from Faryab province in northern Afghanistan, fled to Italy, where they are now based, and competed at the Paris Olympics in 2024.
Fariba, who finished seventh in the women’s time trial at the Asian Games, said she hoped her performances would encourage other girls and women living under the repressive Taliban regime to chase their own sporting ambitions.
She said: “I can’t explain my feelings now. I was born inside a country where the women who dream are getting attacked, and I’m really happy that I have fought against that.
“I hope that the next generation will come here and represent their country without any fear.
“This silver medal can show a lot of resilience from Afghan women, and I’m really happy. I’m not alone, I know that behind me millions of women, from many countries, have the same dream and they are standing with me.”
Hashimi hopes to compete at the LA Olympics in 2028, adding: “I never want to give up and hopefully we can see [what can happen] again in Los Angeles.”
She also thanked the Japanese team for their contribution to her silver medal, which she won behind China’s Guo Li. Hashimi did not have a mechanic with her at the Games in Nagoya, Japan, and said: “We were fixing the bike ourselves. I was the mechanic for myself. I was washing the bike myself. Thank you to the Japanese team. They were really, really nice to me, fixed my bike.”
