ISSOUFOU ALFAGA Abdoul Razak

General
FINANCIAL TROUBLES
Since 2015 he has trained in Germany at the Taekwondo Competence Centre [TCC]. However, despite receiving an athletic scholarship and support from the Olympic Committee of Niger, he has struggled to afford it. "Only the sports ministry and the Niger government can release funds for my preparation. It's really hard. Without money, high-level sport does not exist. I am doing my best and I won't give up. Many people want to do the same, but if they see how difficult it is for me they might give up." (schwaebische.de, 02 Jan 2020; mali-web.org, 08 Apr 2016)

EARLY DAYS
His cousin died due to an injury sustained in a taekwondo bout in 2001. Issoufou Alfaga's father refused to let him or his brothers compete in taekwondo following the incident and it was not until he went to live with his uncle in Togo at age 11 that he took up the sport again. He refused a citizenship of Togo that was offered to him after winning in local tournaments. "My uncle did not want me involved but one day I borrowed a dobok [taekwondo uniform] from a friend and went in secret. I couldn't accept [the Togo citizenship], I knew I was fighting also for my country. I had to struggle with the idea of competing in Niger, my friends and relatives thought that taekwondo was just a way to scuffle in the streets. I was able to prove that it wasn't so, that if you dare, you can even become a world champion." (ozy.com, 03 Aug 2018; mali-web.org, 08 Apr 2016)

HOME TOURNAMENT
In 2017 he began organising Coupe Alfaga, Niger's first annual international taekwondo competition. (ozy.com, 03 Aug 2018)

He became the first Nigerien athlete to win a silver medal in any sport at the Olympic Games in when he placed second in the +80kg weight category at the 2016 edition in Rio de Janeiro. The medal was also the first that a Nigerien athlete had won in taekwondo at an Olympic Games. (SportsDeskOnline, 18 Feb 2020)