Refugee paralympian Zakia Khudadadi has made history at the Paris Paralympics by becoming the first-ever Refugee Paralympic Team medallist.

Ms Khudadadi, who competed for Afghanistan in the 2021 games, won bronze in the women’s under 47kg category in taekwando.

At the end of her final bout at Paris’ Grand Palais, Ms Khudadadi erupted in joy, throwing her helmet and mouthpiece into the air.

“It was a surreal moment, my heart started racing when I realised I had won the bronze,” Ms Khudadadi, 25, told games media.

“I went through so much to get here. This medal is for all the women of Afghanistan and all the refugees of the world. I hope that one day there will be peace in my country,” she said.

Ms Khudadadi, who was born without one forearm, began practicing taekwondo in secret at the age of 11 in a hidden gym in her hometown of Herat, in western Afghanistan.

Originally blocked from competing following the return to power of the Taliban in 2021, she was later evacuated from Afghanistan after making a desperate appeal on video.

Ms Khudadadi was allowed to compete at the Tokyo Olympics for her country following a plea from the international community.

After the competition, she settled in Paris and was later offered the opportunity to compete with the Refugee Team at the 2024 Paralympics, being held in her adopted home city.

In Paris, the Grand Palais crowd cheered her on as if she were one of their own.

Since fleeing Afghanistan, Khudadadi has been training at Insep, France’s national institute of sport, in Paris with her French coach Haby Niare, who is a former taekwondo world champion.

“This medal means everything to me; I will never forget that day. I won because of the great support I got from the crowd,” Ms Khudadadi said.

Ms Khudadadi received her medal from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, and Andrew Parsons, the president of the International Paralympic Committee.

“For the Refugee Paralympic Team, it’s super special, it’s super important. Zakia just showed to the world how good she is. It’s an incredible journey, it’s something that we should all learn about,” Mr Parsons said.

Before the Games Ms Kshudadadi spoke of her pride at representing refugees.

“I am really happy and ready to represent the refugee team because I am a refugee in France. I hope we can all get a medal to show how proud we are,” she said.

“We need to make people understand that refugees have a right to asylum, that they had to flee their countries because of the situation they were in,” she added. “We need to make people understand the reality of what refugees are going through.”