‘My life was in danger’ - Flagbearer and taekwondo athlete Farzad Mansouri details why he had to flee Afghanistan

Farzad Mansouri was the flagbearer for Afghanistan at the Tokyo Olympics but weeks later he would have to flee the country in fear of his life after the Taliban re-took control of the country. The 20-year-old told The Power of Sport that the Taliban's return to power put his taekwondo career on hold, and, given his Tajik ethnicity and his father’s work for the government, he decided to leave the country. Ad/> “To be able to go to the Olympics and to be my country’s flagbearer was an incredible feeling.

I was representing 30 million people at the Olympic Games," said Mansouri in the latest episode of The Power of Sport. /> Taekwondo‘My life was in danger’ – Flagbearer Mansouri details why he had to flee Afghanistan6 HOURS AGO “After the Olympics we returned to Afghanistan, but the circumstances overtook us — the Taliban took control of the country just two weeks later, and the security situation deteriorated. “It was dangerous for my family because we were well known people in Afghanistan.

My life was in danger and where we lived, a few people were killed. It was decided that we had to flee the country.” He spent eight months in a refugee camp in the United Arab Emirates, before moving to Manchester, where he has resumed his taekwondo training. “We went to Abu Dhabi and whilst there I was invited by a few countries like Germany, the Netherlands, Azerbaijan and the United Kingdom to come and train with them," he said.