Paris (France): Refugee Afghanistan breaker Manizha Talash, renowned as B-girl Talash, was disqualified from the first-ever breaking competition at the Olympic Games on Friday. The incident occurred when Talash walked out wearing a "Free Afghan Women" cape to compete against India Sardjoe, known as b-girl India, of the Netherlands in the pre-quarterfinal match.
The Breaking competition was introduced for the first time in the Summer Olympics at Paris Games 2024.
The 21-year-old Talash, who hails originally from Afghanistan and represents the Olympic Refugee team, lost in the pre-qualifier battle against her Netherlands' opponent. She wouldn't have proceeded to the next round even if she hadn't been disqualified. The one-off pre-qualifier clash was added to the Olympic roster after the b-girl from Afghanistan missed registration for qualifying events. The International Olympic Committee's executive board invited her to participate after learning of her efforts to defy the strict rule of the Taliban in her home country.
No political statements and slogans are allowed on the field and at podiums at the prestigious Olympic Games. The rule 50 of the guidelines shared by the IOC for the Paris Olympics, states, "No form of publicity or propaganda, commercial or otherwise, may appear on persons, on sportswear, accessories or, more generally, on any article of clothing or equipment whatsoever worn or used by all competitors, team officials, other team personnel and all other participants in the Olympic Games, except for the identification – as defined in paragraph 8 below – of the manufacturer of the article or equipment concerned, provided that such identification shall not be marked conspicuously for advertising purposes."
Following the incident, the World DanceSports Federation, the governing body for the breaking competition at the Summer Games, released a statement which reads that she "was disqualified for displaying a political slogan on her attire during the Pre-Qualifier battle."
The Afghan refugee sought asylum in Spain after fleeing Taliban rule in Afghanistan in 2021.
"I'm here because I want to reach my dream. Not because I'm scared," she told The Associated Press before the commencement of the Olympics.
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