The Afghan Invictus team returned home on Tuesday after taking part in the 2017 Invictus Games in the Canadian city of Toronto – bringing with them two medals – one silver and one bronze. 

Afghanistan’s Mohammad Essa Akbari won a silver medal in powerlifting. Akbari, who lost his legs in a battle against insurgents, said he prepared for nearly three years to qualify for the games. 

“It was a good experience for us, because we managed to fill many gaps during the games, because we learned new things there,” said Essa. 

Meanwhile, acting minister of defense Tariq Shah Bahrami has hailed the performance of the Afghan Invictus team, saying these athletes have performed well in the war and on the sports fields.

“Two of our disabled officers Mohammad Essa and Nasir Ahmad won a bronze and silver medal for Afghanistan,” said Bahrami. 

In total 550 athletes from seventeen nations took part in the games.

The Invictus Games is an international paralympic-style multi-sport event for armed services personnel.

This was the third Invictus Games, an initiative started in 2014 by Britain’s Prince Harry.