The captain of the Afghan women’s wheelchair basketball team made her debut for her new Spanish side on Saturday to cheers and applause just over a month after fleeing Kabul.
Nilofar Bayat, 28, and her husband Ramesh Naik Zai, 27, were offered the chance to play for Bidaideak Bilbao BSR, a wheelchair basketball team in the northern city of Bilbao.
They arrived in Madrid from Kabul on August 20 on a flight with 100 other refugees thanks to efforts by the Spanish government and the Spanish Basketball Federation.
It was the first time Bayat had played on a mixed team. On Saturday, she was the only woman playing for Bidaideak Bilbao BSR in the side’s friendly match against Fundacion Vital Zuzenak.
Bayat rolled onto the court to a standing ovation from the crowd. Afterwards, she and her husband were presented with flowers.
“It’s very nice, I can’t hold my tears, they are very kind,” she said after finishing the game.
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