Afghanistan at the 2022 Asian Games

Afghanistan competed at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China, which was held from 23 September 2023 to 8 October 2023.^[4][5]

Afghanistan at the 2022 Asian Games
Flag of Afghanistan[a]
IOC code	AFG
NOC	National Olympic Committee of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
in Hangzhou 19 September 2023 (2023-09-19) – 8 October 2023 (2023-10-08)
Competitors	83 in 16 sports
Flag bearers	Kamia Yousufi Mohsen Rezaee[3]
Medals Ranked 30th	Gold 0 Silver 1 Bronze 4 Total 5
Asian Games appearances (overview)
1951 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 2026

These games marked Afghanistan's best ever performance at the Asian Games with the country winning 5 medals in total.^[6]

Background

This was the first time Afghanistan competed in the Asian Games since the Taliban takeover of the country following the fall of Kabul in 2021.^[7]

The Afghanistan delegation consisted of two groups, an all-male contingent backed by the Taliban and another supported by Hafizullah Wali Rahimi, who was president of the Afghanistan National Olympic Committee prior to the Taliban takeover. The latter group were from the Afghan diaspora and included women.^[7] Their chef de mission was Khwaja Hashmatullah Rasa.^[8] The Taliban rejected Afghanistan's entire participation with women athletes in the games at all.^[9]

Afghanistan competed under the Islamic Republic tricolor flag, instead of the white banner preferred by the Taliban. The contingent at the opening ceremony included women, with Mohsen Rezaee and Kamia Yousufi as flagbearers.^[1]

Medal summary

Further information: 2022 Asian Games medal table

Medalists

The following Afghanistan competitors won medals at the Games.

Medal	Name	Sport	Event	Date
Silver	Afghanistan national cricket team	Cricket	Men's tournament	7 Oct
Bronze	Mohsen Rezaee	Taekwondo	Men's 58 kg	25 Sep
Bronze	Khalid Hotak	Wushu	Men's sanda 70 kg	27 Sep
Bronze	Nasratullah Habibi	Wushu	Men's sanda 75 kg	27 Sep
Bronze	Baiqara Rasooli	Kurash	Men's 81 kg	1 Oct

Medals by sports

Sport				Total
Cricket	0	1	0	0
Kurash	0	0	1	1
Taekwondo	0	0	1	1
Wushu	0	0	2	2
Total	0	1	4	4

Medals by day
Day	Date				Total
1	September 24	0	0	0	0
2	September 25	0	0	1	1
3	September 26	0	0	0	0
4	September 27	0	0	2	2
5	September 28	0	0	0	0
6	September 29	0	0	0	0
7	September 30	0	0	0	0
8	October 1	0	0	1	1
9	October 2	0	0	0	0
10	October 3	0	0	0	0
11	October 4	0	0	0	0
12	October 5	0	0	0	0
13	October 6	0	0	0	0
14	October 7	0	1	0	1
15	October 8	0	0	0	0

Competitors

Sport	Men	Women	Total
Athletics	1	1	2
Boxing	3	0	3
Canoeing	1	0	1
Cricket	15	0	15
Cycling	0	2	2
Judo	2	0	2
Ju-jitsu	3	0	3
Karate	2	0	2
Kurash	3	0	3
Rugby sevens	12	0	12
Swimming	1	0	1
Taekwondo	5	0	5
Volleyball	12	12	24
Weightlifting	1	0	1
Wrestling	3	0	3
Wushu	4	0	4
Total	68	15	83

Cricket

Main article: Cricket at the 2022 Asian Games

Men's tournament

Main article: Cricket at the 2022 Asian Games – Men

Squad

• Gulbadin Naib (c)
• Mohammad Shahzad (vc, wk)
• Fareed Ahmad
• Qais Ahmad
• Zubaid Akbari
• Sharafuddin Ashraf
• Sediqullah Atal
• Karim Janat
• Zahir Khan
• Nijat Masood
• Shahidullah
• Sayed Shirzad
• Wafiullah Tarakhil
• Noor Ali Zadran
• Afsar Zazai (wk)

Football

Main article: Football at the 2022 Asian Games

The national under-23 football team withdrew from the men's tournament before matches started.^[10]

Summary

Key:

• A.E.T – After extra time.
• P – Match decided by penalty-shootout.

Team	Event	Group Stage				Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Final / BM
		Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Rank	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Rank
Afghanistan men's under-23	Men's tournament	Uzbekistan WD	Syria WD	Hong Kong WD	—	Withdrew

Volleyball

Summary

Team	Event	Group stage				Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Final / BM
		Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Rank	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score
Afghanistan men's	Men's tournament	Japan L 0–3	Philippines L 0–3	Indonesia L 0–3	4	Did not advance
Afghanistan women's	Women's tournament	Kazakhstan L 0–3	Japan L 0–3	Hong Kong L 0–3	4	Did not advance

Men's tournament

Main article: Volleyball at the 2022 Asian Games – Men

Squad

• Mohammad Sabawoon Wardak
• Abdul Mutalib Mohammadi
• Mohammad Imran Niazai
• Mohammad Shahid Badloon
• Sabawoon Ghorzang
• Besmaullah Sultani
• Sayed Habib Yousufi
• Abdul Malik Mamoozai
• Ozair Mohammad Asefi
• Gulam Rasool Haidari
• Allah Nazar Karimy
• Naser Kohistani

Wushu

Main article: Wushu at the 2022 Asian Games

Sanda

Athlete	Event	Round of 16	Quarter-finals	Semi-finals	Final
		Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Rank
Mohammad Karim Faqiri	Men's –56 kg	Guitara (INA) L 1–2	Did not advance
Majid Rasoli	Men's –65 kg	Jeon (KOR) L 0–2	Did not advance
Khalid Hotak	Men's –70 kg	Izmurzayev (KAZ) W 2–0	Yadav (IND) W KO	He (CHN) L 0–2	Did not advance
Nasratullah Habibi	Men's –75 kg	Bye	Saophanao (THA) W 2–0	Sabriabibegloo (IRI) L PD	Did not advance

Notes

1. Afghanistan competes under the tricolor flag used by the Islamic Republic and not the white banner preferred by the Taliban.^[1][2]