Afghanistan's National Taekwondo Team left for Iran Tuesday to participate in the 24th annual Fajr Taekwondo Competitions.
Afghanistan is represented at the competitions by 10 male and three female athletes. The contingent also includes two coaches, two referees and two managers.
The Afghan Taekwondo Federation says the national team is set and ready for the competitions.
"Strong countries such as South Korea, France, Russia and Jordan take part in these competitions. We hope that after all the hard work our trainers did for our boys – they were quarantined for training for one and a half month – we will have good achievements," said Ziaulhaq Bakhshi, head of Afghanistan's Taekwondo Federation.
Afghan athletes scored one gold, one silver and four bronze medals in last year's competitions. The athletes are optimistic about their chances this year.
"We spent about one and a half month for special preparation for Fajr Competitions. We hope that we are a hundred percent ready, and we assure our people that we will hopefully score medals," one of the athletes said.
The three-day Fajr competitions are held in Tehran annually. Fifteen countries are participating this year.