Fariba Hashimi Finishes Seventh in Asian Games Time Trial

Fariba Hashimi finished seventh for Afghanistan in the women’s individual time trial at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Sunday, placing her among the leading riders in the 24.2-kilometre race.

The 23-year-old Afghan cyclist completed the Shinshiro course 2 minutes and 3 seconds behind Kazakhstan’s Rinata Sultanova, who won gold in 36 minutes and 24 seconds.

China’s Hao Zhang took silver, five seconds behind Sultanova, while South Korea’s Jieun Shin finished 32 seconds behind the winner to claim bronze.

Hashimi was the seventh-fastest of the 14 riders who started the race. She finished four seconds behind Japan’s Akari Kobayashi in sixth and 1 minute and 24 seconds ahead of Thailand’s Phetdarin Somrat in eighth.

The result gave Afghanistan a top-10 finish in one of the first cycling medal events of the Games.

Hashimi has competed internationally for Afghanistan for several years and represented the country at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games alongside her sister, Yulduz Hashimi.

Her path into competitive cycling began in Faryab, where the sisters trained despite hostility towards women participating in the sport. Hashimi later left Afghanistan and continued her cycling career in Europe.

Speaking to Reuters after Sunday’s race, Hashimi said competing carried significance beyond her own result and that she hoped future generations of Afghan women would be able to compete internationally from inside Afghanistan.

For ASJF NEWS, the sporting result remains the central fact: Hashimi leaves the Asian Games individual time trial with seventh place, 2:03 separating her from the continental title.