FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
November 16, 2006
CONTACT:
Joshua Gross, Director of Media Relations
(202) 483-6410 ext. 8002
[email protected]
website: www.embassyofafghanistan.org
AFGHANISTAN NATIONAL BASKETBALL TEAM
MAKES DEBUT IN 15th ANNUAL ASIAN GAMES
DOHA, QATAR – Over 100 athletes from Afghanistan will travel to Doha, Qatar in late November to compete in the 15th Annual Asian Games. Afghan athletes will compete in boxing, Judo, Taekwondo, gymnastics, wrestling and weightlifting.
The Asian Games will feature the first international appearance of the Afghan National Basketball Team. The team is composed of both Afghan nationals and Afghan-Americans. At the behest of the Afghan National Olympic Committee and the Afghan National Basketball Federation, the team was selected through a series of try-outs organized by prominent Afghan athletes. Fourteen Afghan-American athletes will join their teammates from Afghanistan to compete in Doha, facing China/Hong Kong on November 23 and Syria on November 24.
Afghanistan has a long tradition of international sports competition, beginning with the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games. Wrestler Mohammed Ebrahim won nation-wide acclaim upon attaining fifth place in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. A team of six male and female athletes from Afghanistan competed in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.
The Afghan National Team will prove to be tough competition, and many of the young athletes intend on winning gold medals. At last year’s Asian Games, Ms. Roia Zamani won a bronze medal in women's middle weight Taekwondo.
The Afghan National Basketball Team is guided by manager Mr. Esmael Husseini and coach Mr. Zabi Subat, and will be accompanied by Mr. Hamed Elmi, Cultural Attaché to the Embassy. The historic participation of these athletes was made possible with the help of the Bayat Family Foundation and the Afghan Sports Federation.
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