Two young men from Afghanistan’s persecuted Hazara minority are not typical ski champions.
But Sajjad Husaini and Sayed Ali Shah Farhang are now training in the Swiss Alps in the hope of becoming the first people from war-torn Afghanistan to compete in the winter Olympics.
Husaini, 25, and Farhang, 26, are from the mountainous Afghan province of Bamiyan, famed for its ancient Buddha statues that were blown up by the Taliban in 2001.
As children, Husaini and Farhang fled to Iran with their families to escape the violence in their own country. They returned as young adults just as the Bamiyan Ski Club was established in 2011. Lugging borrowed skis on their shoulders, they trekked up the Bamiyan mountains and taught themselves to ski down.
After winning three national championships in Afghanistan, the pair have been training as slalom skiers in Switzerland for three winters.
"They progressed incredibly well," said their Swiss trainer Andreas Hanni. "Two years ago when they first started, they couldn’t ski parallel, but now they are racing."
Husaini thought skiing in Switzerland would be as easy as skiing on powder snow trails back home. "When we came here, I couldn’t even control my balance on the compact ski trails. We were training with short skis that tourists use for leisure," he said.
Despite their lack of experience, both skiers qualified for the Alpine skiing world championships in St Moritz last month. They advanced to the semi-finals after competing in four rounds of qualifying races in the giant slalom, against competitors from more than 70 countries.
"This was the first time Afghanistan was represented in the winter championships, and we are proud to be ice breakers," Farhang said.
Now the Afghan skiers are training for the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea.
An instinct for survival may have helped them make such extraordinary progress.
The Hazara are a Persian-speaking, mainly Shiite minority who have long faced persecution in Afghanistan, with thousands massacred by the Taliban and Al Qaeda in the 1990s.
Infighting between Afghanistan’s two skiing federations meant they received no support from home, the skiers said.
"Like everything, unfortunately sport has also become politicised in Afghanistan," said Husaini. "We came here to represent our nation, but none of the officials called us, not even for a minute to give a word of encouragement."

Source: The National