Afghanistan at the 2016 Summer Paralympics

Afghanistan made its Paralympic debut at the 1996 Summer Paralympics in Atlanta, United States.^[2] With the exception of the 2000 Summer Paralympics, they have sent a delegation to every Summer Paralympics since, making Rio the nation's fifth time participating at the Paralympics.^[3] They have never participated in the Winter Paralympic Games,^[3] and have never won a Paralympic medal.^[3] The 2016 Summer Paralympics were held from 7–18 September 2016 with a total of 4,328 athletes representing 159 National Paralympic Committees taking part.^[4] Athlete Mohammad Durani was the only competitor for Afghanistan in Rio.^[1] He was chosen as the flag bearer for the opening ceremony.^[5]

Every participant at the Paralympics has their disability grouped into one of five disability categories: amputation, which may be congenital or sustained through injury or illness; cerebral palsy; wheelchair athletes, though there is often overlap between this and other categories; visual impairment, including blindness; and Les autres, which is any physical disability that does not fall strictly under one of the other categories, like dwarfism or multiple sclerosis.^[6][7] Each Paralympic sport then has its own classifications, dependent upon the specific physical demands of competition. Events are given a code, made of numbers and letters, describing the type of event and classification of the athletes competing. Some sports, such as athletics, divide athletes by both the category and severity of their disabilities. Other sports, for example swimming, group competitors from different categories together, the only separation being based on the severity of the disability.^[8]