Meet Mohammad Samim Faizad, the Olympian judoka training in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan

Faizad, 22, is part of a six-strong Afghanistan squad heading to Paris, including three women who are not acknowledged by the Taliban government

Judoka Mohammad Samim Faizad, left, is the only member of the Afghanistan Olympic team who trains in his homeland. AFP

Mohammad Samim Faizad is the only Olympic athlete training for the Games inside Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.

Faizad is part of a six-strong Afghanistan squad heading to Paris, including three women who are not acknowledged by the Taliban government.

Judoka Faizad is the only member of the team still living in Afghanistan and follows a rigorous regime whilst competing with the challenges of living in a country mired in poverty, recovering from war and governed by the Taliban.

"Physical fatigue subsides after 10 to 20 minutes, but mental and psychological exhaustion is much harder to overcome," Faizad told AFP.

The 22 year old works odd jobs to fund four hours of training in the Japanese martial art each day at the Afghanistan Judo Federation.

"Judo means a lot to me. One of my biggest dreams has been to someday participate in the Olympic Games."

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) banned Afghanistan from the Games in 1999, during the first period of Taliban rule from 1996 and 2001 when women were barred from sport.

Taliban government curbs have once again squeezed women out of sport, as well as secondary schools and universities, in strictures the United Nations describes as "gender apartheid".

A gender-balanced team of three men and three women will represent Afghanistan in Paris for the July 26-August 11 Games in a symbolic move for the first summer Olympics since the Taliban took over in Kabul.

The women will compete in athletics and cycling while their male counterparts will feature in athletics, swimming and judo.

They were selected by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in consultation with Afghanistan's largely exiled National Olympic Committee.

Taliban officials have not been invited to attend the Paris Games.

Faizad won his spot in a Kabul tournament of more than a hundred competitors.

"I will give my hundred percent to get the gold medal for my country," said Faizad, who has practised judo for 14 years and is 446th in the men's world rankings.

The Taliban government have campaigned to be the country's only representatives at diplomatic forums but in sport have been less dogmatic, praising teams that play under the old flag.

"We don't want to mix politics and sports," Atal Mashwani, the spokesman of the Taliban government's sports directorate, told AFP.

However he insisted that "only three athletes are representing Afghanistan" at the Olympics, refusing to acknowledge the women competitors.

He added that with time "the flag issues will be solved".

"The flag of the ruling government will be waved in international sports events," he said.

Afghanistan first appeared at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin and have won only two bronze medals, both in taekwondo.

"In Afghanistan, there aren't many opportunities for sport," said Faizad.

"We don't have standard clubs to train properly, but we do our best."

The Paris Olympics will be Faizad's first international competition -- but with the Taliban government unrecognised by any other nation, the trip is difficult and complicated.

Most embassies in Afghanistan were evacuated during the Taliban takeover and Faizad must travel to neighbouring Iran to apply for his visa.

"Whether I win or not, and if I return to Afghanistan empty-handed, I will train to be ready for the 2028 Olympic Games," he added.