Afghan Masomah ‘Proud’ to Be a Voice for Refugees at Olympics 

Afghan cyclist Masomah Ali Reza, leader of the refugee team for the Paris Olympics, poses at the COJO headquarters in Saint Denis on June 19, 2024. (AFP)
Afghan cyclist Masomah Ali Reza, leader of the refugee team for the Paris Olympics, poses at the COJO headquarters in Saint Denis on June 19, 2024. (AFP)
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Afghan Masomah ‘Proud’ to Be a Voice for Refugees at Olympics 

Afghan cyclist Masomah Ali Reza, leader of the refugee team for the Paris Olympics, poses at the COJO headquarters in Saint Denis on June 19, 2024. (AFP)
Afghan cyclist Masomah Ali Reza, leader of the refugee team for the Paris Olympics, poses at the COJO headquarters in Saint Denis on June 19, 2024. (AFP)

Masomah Ali Zada is "proud" to represent "all those who have been forced to flee their country" in her role as chef de mission of the Refugee team at the Paris Olympics, she told AFP.

The 28-year-old Afghan has transferred seamlessly from Olympic cyclist for the Refugee team at the Tokyo 2020 Games to a managerial role and will be "the spokesperson for the 120 million displaced people round the world."

Masomah will be in charge of 36 athletes hailing from 11 countries and competing across 12 sports at the Games which run from July 26 to August 11.

"It fills me with great pride and is an immense honor to represent, along with this unique and special team, those people who have been obliged to flee their country," Masomah told AFP, speaking in French in a round of interviews at the Paris Games organizers' headquarters to commemorate United Nations Refugees Day.

Masomah has achieved a lot in the eight years since she arrived in France, gaining the right of asylum after being refused a visa in her first application and she recently obtained her masters in civil engineering at Lille University.

Masomah can relate to the refugees having been one herself -- she lived in Iran from the age of two to 10 before returning to Afghanistan.

"I know what it is to be a refugee," said Masomah, her eyes highlighted by eyeliner and her head covered by a black veil.

"I had bad experiences, which led me to wonder whether I would ever be respected and it posed a lot of questions over my future."

Masomah acknowledges she is in a better position than her female compatriots back in Afghanistan.

"When I compare my situation here, in France, where I can live and travel on my own, to that of Afghanistan-based women... I am sad and disappointed to be unable to do anything for them," said a visibly emotional Masomah.

- 'Any dream is possible' -

Afghanistan will have a six-member team in Paris, three men and three women, after intense talks between the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Afghan National Olympic Committee.

The latter has told AFP that all but one of the six team members are based outside the country.

"I am so happy there will be three Afghan women and they will be equal with the men," said Masomah, who added she will go along to cheer them on in their events.

Masomah said she experienced abuse and stigma when out on her bike in Afghanistan after she returned from Iran.

She said people would hurl stones and insults at her as she cycled at great speed around Kabul, but it only served to spur her on and she made the national team aged just 16.

"I grew up amid great inequality and insecurity," she said.

"We lived in fear, but when I got on my bike, I felt free. I forgot about problems.

"I had the impression I was empowered, when in Afghanistan one thinks women are incapable of doing certain things," said Masomah, who finally left the country due to the hostility from the conservative elements of Afghan society.

Masomah, though, is keen to pursue a career in sport and one would not bet against her succeeding given how far her determination and courage has brought her so far.

"You must work really hard to fulfil your dream," she said.

"I had to put in three times the effort of a French student: between learning the language, the university courses, and the sport."

The fulfilment of her dream bore fruit in Tokyo.

"I lived my dream when the crowd cried out my name," said Masomah, who came last in the time-trial, one of the rare events, due to Covid restrictions, which spectators were permitted to attend.

"After that I said to myself any dream is possible to realize because I was there."



Keys Extends Winning Streak, Gets Sabalenka Again at Indian Wells After Australian Open Title 

Madison Keys is congratulated by Belinda Bencic of Switzerland after their match during the quarterfinals of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells Tennis Garden on March 13, 2025 in Indian Wells, California. (Getty Images/AFP)
Madison Keys is congratulated by Belinda Bencic of Switzerland after their match during the quarterfinals of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells Tennis Garden on March 13, 2025 in Indian Wells, California. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Keys Extends Winning Streak, Gets Sabalenka Again at Indian Wells After Australian Open Title 

Madison Keys is congratulated by Belinda Bencic of Switzerland after their match during the quarterfinals of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells Tennis Garden on March 13, 2025 in Indian Wells, California. (Getty Images/AFP)
Madison Keys is congratulated by Belinda Bencic of Switzerland after their match during the quarterfinals of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells Tennis Garden on March 13, 2025 in Indian Wells, California. (Getty Images/AFP)

Madison Keys extended her winning streak to 16 matches, reaching the BNP Paribas Open semifinals with a 6-1, 6-1 wipeout of wild-card entry Belinda Bencic on Thursday.

The Australian Open champion needed just 65 minutes to hold up her end of a rematch with top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka, who beat Liudmila Samsonova 6-2, 6-3 later. Keys beat Sabalenka in three sets in January at Melbourne Park, denying Sabalenka a third consecutive title.

Bencic was coming off an upset of No. 4 seed Coco Gauff in the fourth round, but the 28-year-old from Switzerland never had a chance against the fifth-seeded Keys.

Ben Shelton, at 22 the youngest American man to reach the quarterfinals at Indian Wells since 2004, couldn't go further. Jack Draper of England moved on to the semifinals with a 6-4, 7-5 victory.

The 13th-seeded Draper will face No. 2 seed Carlos Alcaraz, the two-time defending champion who extended his winning streak at Indian Wells to 16 matches with a 6-3, 7-6 (4) win over Francisco Cerundolo.

Iga Swiatek reached the BNP Paribas semifinals for the fourth consecutive time in her bid to be the first woman to win the tournament three times. The No. 2 seed from Poland beat eighth-seeded Qinwen Zheng of China 6-3, 6-3 in a rematch of a Paris Olympics semifinal from last summer won by Zheng.

Swiatek, the defending champion, has a 10-match winning streak in the California desert. The five-time Grand Slam champion also won the event in 2022. Zheng ended Swiatek's 25-match winning streak at the Olympics last year.

Swiatek converted all five of her break points, but Zheng broke twice on her way to winning six games, matching the total Swiatek had dropped in the tournament coming into the match.

On the men's side, Daniil Medvedev reached the Indian Wells semifinals for the third consecutive year with a 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (7) victory over 20-year-old Frenchman Arthur Fils.

The 29-year-old Russian, seeded fifth, kept alive a bid for a third trip to the final of the event. That included a brief delay in the third set when gusty wind blew debris all over the stadium.

Mirra Andreeva advanced to the women's semifinals with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Elina Svitolina. Holger Rune moved on to his first Indian Wells semifinal by rallying for a 5-7, 6-0, 6-3 win over Tallon Griekspoor.