First-ever Baloch to have participated in Olympics, young Madiea Ghafoor of Netherlands has thanked the Pakistani community for showering her with so much love and supporting her in the Rio Olympics.
“I am thankful to all the Pakistanis for showing me support,” she said in a video message after representing her nation in the 4x400m relay event.
“Unfortunately I will not be able to represent Pakistan in the Olympics as I was born and raised in the Netherlands,” she was quoted as saying by the local media.
Madiea had earlier revealed that she was oblivious of the fact that she was the first female Baloch to feature in the Olympics.
“I feel honoured to be a part of this huge event and to be an inspiration for the Baloch people, especially the youth,” she said. “I had no idea I was the first Baloch girl to participate at the Games until someone informed me about that. This has made me even more determined to do the best I can.”
Despite the fact that Madiea can't communicate in Urdu, she is familiar with the Balochi language. Madiea has her roots in Lyari even though she was brought up in the Netherlands. Her parents lived in the old Baloch neighborhood and she is granddaughter of Lal Baksh Rind, a well known political personality of the 70s.
Madiea also expressed her desire of more representation by young Pakistani girls at world sporting events.
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