Feature: Afghanistan sees boom in sport of bodybuilding

Dozens of bodybuilders from across militancy-plagued Afghanistan and hundreds of spectators were seen muscling into the country's only sport stadium in Kabul on Wednesday to compete in the Mr. Afghanistan Bodybuilding Championship.

Each competitor was encouraged by applause from the spectators after flexing their muscles and demonstrating their strength in the national tournament.

"I am proud today that I was announced the champion in the 85 kg weight competition of the Mr. Afghanistan Bodybuilding Championship in Kabul," Hamid Shirzai, 38 told Xinhua.

"I am hopeful to win the title of Mr. Afghanistan one day," the ambitious bodybuilder said.

Post-Taliban Afghanistan has made tremendous achievements in sporting fields over the past decade as Afghan athletes have brought medals home from the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Olympic Games, as well as in regional tournaments.

In the militancy-hit country, the peace-loving Afghans, in spite of suffering from conflicts, have been working hard to promote sport, cinema, music, theater, art and other social activities to change the face of their war-torn country and remodel the nation as a peaceful one in the eyes of its citizens and the world.

"I have been engaged in bodybuilding over the past 20 years, during which I have attended several regional and international competitions and have brought three medals, including two from South Asian championships, back to my home country Afghanistan," Shirzai said proudly.

As with other sports, Afghanistan has impressed in the bodybuilding sector over the past decade, with the Afghan bodybuilding team winning six gold medals in the 43rd Asian bodybuilding competition held in Kazakhstan last year.

Shirzai is a member of the team that is going to compete in the Asian championship in Uzbekistan in September with the hope of bringing more medals home.

"With the encouragement and prayers of our countrymen I am exercising hard to win a medal at the Uzbekistan championship and make history for the Afghan team," Shirzai told Xinhua with confidence.

A total of 650 bodybuilders from across Afghanistan attended a four-day competition ending on June 3 here in the national sport stadium in Kabul on Wednesday, during which the best from each category was selected for the international championship.

The 49th ASIAN Bodybuilding and Physique Sports Championships is slated to kick off in Uzbekistan's capital of Tashkent on Sept. 27 this year, Bawar Hotak, chairman of the Afghanistan Bodybuilding Federation told Xinhua, adding that the Afghan bodybuilding team has been exercising hard to attend the championship at their full ability.

The Afghan Bodybuilding Team will also take part in the international championship in Thailand within the next four months, Hotak added.

Similar to kungfu, football, taekwondo, karate, judo, cricket, volleyball and running, the sport of bodybuilding has been gaining popularity in Afghanistan, a development unthinkable during the Taliban rule.

The hardliner Taliban outfit during its six year-reign which collapsed in late 2001 had banned several kinds of sports including boxing and bodybuilding.

Presently, 1,750 bodybuilding clubs, including 350 in the capital city Kabul, are operating to develop bodybuilding in Afghanistan in spite of ongoing militancy in the country. Endi