Olympic refugee team: Farzad Mansouri on his Kabul-Britain journey - BBC Sport

Farzad Mansouri was the teenage flagbearer for his nation at the last Olympics. Three years on, displaced by war and relocated to Manchester, he will compete under a new banner in Paris.

Fleeing Kabul, chasing gold - the story of a refugee Olympian

Image source, GettySonia OxleyBBC Sport Wearing traditional white robes, a patterned tunic and a black face mask, Farzad Mansouri proudly carried the Afghanistan flag into Tokyo's Olympic Stadium.

As he strode out in front of empty stands and a global television audience of millions, he had no idea that a few weeks later he would be scrambling to flee the country he was representing in taekwondo.

The teenager couldn't foresee the desperate scenes at Kabul airport as he, and tens of thousands of compatriots, tried to board evacuation flights to get away from the Taliban.

He did not know he would be mourning the death of a team-mate in a suicide bomb attack.

https://www.bbc.com/sport/taekwondo/articles/cevv75j4xyno

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