IOC President visits Refugee Olympic Team – Ethnic Council of Shepparton and District

It was great to see IOC President Thomas Bach visit our team, showing his support for all of the work we are doing. Here we look at the preparation by Iranian refugee karateka competitor, Hamoon Derafshipour.

Refugee Olympic Competitor: Hamoon Derafshipour
Hamoon Derafshipour is an Iranian karateka (karate competitor). He qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, where karate will be featured for the first time, as part of the International Olympic Committee Refugee Olympic Team.

He started practising karate when he was 7 years old. Previously, Derafshipour won a bronze medal in the Men’s Individual -67 Kg Kumite at the 2018 Senior World Karate Championships at Madrid, Spain and Two Asian Karate Championships titles, and several other medals, including three golds and three bronze in the World Karate Federation Karate1 Premier League Championship.

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UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency

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	The Ethnic Council of Shepparton and District acknowledges the Yorta Yorta People of the land which comprises the Goulburn Valley. We pay respect to tribal Elders, past, present and emerging and we celebrate their continuing culture and acknowledge the memory of their ancestors.
	The Ethnic Council of Shepparton and District is a peak body whose mission is to promote and represent the social, cultural and economic well-being of ethnic communities in the Goulburn Valley Region through the provision of quality and innovative settlement, refugee support, community development, and information and advocacy services.