Hadi Hassanzada

Started: He took up Para taekwondo at age 23 in 2016 after joining the Special Needs Team from the Rapid Vienna football club in Austria. (Athlete, 03 Sep 2024; insidethegames.biz, 16 Mar 2017) Reason: "As a young child, I grew up with sports and it has always been a part of my life. Even as an amateur, I always loved sports. When I came to Austria and met my coach, I started taekwondo. I was playing football and my coach recommended me to Para Taekwondo with Grandmaster Cesar Valentim. Since then I've found a home at his club." (Athlete, 03 Sep 2024; paralympic.org, 09 Jul 2024) Ambition: To win gold at a world championships, and win a medal at the 2028 Paralympic Games in Los Angeles. (Athlete, 03 Sep 2024) Additional Info: OCCUPATION He works as a taxi driver in Vienna, Austria. (Athlete, 03 Sep 2024) MOVE TO AUSTRIA Born in Afghanistan, he moved to the Islamic Republic of Iran with his parents as a child. At age 20 he left his parents' home, seeking refuge in Turkiye before moving on to Austria. "My life story has mostly been about displacement. I was born in Afghanistan and grew up in Iran, and then I returned to Afghanistan thinking that the country had become peaceful. I was wrong and chose the difficult path of leaving and getting myself to Europe because I saw it as my best chance to live a peaceful life." (paralympic.org, 09 Jul 2024; insidethegames.biz, 06 Dec 2017, 16 Mar 2017, 16 Oct 2016)