Dorsa Yavarivafa remembers watching the Olympics on TV when she was around 13, growing up in Iran. She remembers asking her mother: “Do you think I’ll ever get there?”
Her mother replied that of course it was possible if she worked hard.
That ambition, of playing on the biggest of sporting stages, is getting closer to realisation for the refugee player based in the UK, with Yavarivafa being named as one of IOC’s Refugee Scholarship Holders for the Paris 2024 Olympics. The Refugee Athlete Scholarships are funded by International Olympic Committee (IOC) through its Olympic Solidarity programme, , and provide the athletes with financial support for training and competition in the lead-up to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games , with the hope of being selected for the IOC Refugee Olympic Team.
Yavarivafa was nine when she switched from basketball to badminton, influenced by her father’s love for the game.
“At my first tournament I got first place. I kept getting good results, and I got better and better. I wanted to compete internationally,” says the 19-year-old.
Yavarivafa and mother-Parisa Sarbazi.
Forced to leave their homeland, she accompanied her mother as they reached Germany, where they lived as refugees for a year. At the refugee camp where they were put up, she struggled to find a court.
“I was training at my quarters most of the time. I couldn’t find anywhere to train. Eventually I found a club, BVB. The coaches were friendly and I trained there, and I started competing, and I did well, I won the German National U19 Championships.”
Unable to get residential status in Germany, the mother and daughter had to go through another traumatic relocation, this time hoping to find refuge in the UK.
“It wasn’t easy at all. So much bad stuff happened… I was thinking about badminton all the time during those journeys. We had to go through various places to get to UK, so it wasn’t easy at all. I was thinking, what about badminton? Because it’s hard to start in a country where nobody knows you. I was a good player in Iran. The first thing I had to do was find a sports hall. That was the only thing I had in my head.
“I didn’t train for four months. I kept looking around. Initially we were in Birmingham. We didn’t have a car, so we walked a lot, or we’d take the bus. Finally I met a player called Lorraine Cole, she supported me a lot and coached me. I can’t thank her enough. I joined her club and I found lovely friends and nice coaches.”
Good news finally came the Yavarivafas’ way as they got confirmation that they could stay on in UK. She started training in Birmingham after enrolling for a sports science and fitness course at Sandwell College.
After keeping the flame of badminton alive over many years, and through difficult circumstances, Yavarivafa could scarcely believe it when she was informed that she was on the list of IOC Refugee Scholarship Holders.
“I was like, is this happening? Or am I dreaming? I was so stressed to talk to them, because I was in shock. When I heard I was accepted, I immediately started crying. And my mom was also so happy. I got to the point where I have always wanted to get to. I will never forget that moment.”
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