Nasra Abubakar Ali who represented Somalia in the ongoing World University Games in Chengdu, China was in the news but for all the wrong reasons. The 20-year-old did feature in the 100 metres sprint competition but what was shocking to see that she took over 21 seconds to finish 100 metres. Video of the Somalian participant has gone viral on social media which shows her struggling to finish the race. She trails behind so much that she remains out of frame for majority of the race. Eventually, Nasra finished more than 10 seconds behind the winner of the competition who clocked 11.58 seconds.

The incident has ignited anger and fury in Somalia. Not much after the race, Khadijo Aden Dahir, the chairwoman of the East African country’s athletics federatiom was suspended. Several allegations claim that Nasra was preferred to compete in this 100 metre spirnt only because she was related to the now-suspended chair. This was as reported by Associated Press. Meanwhile, Minister of Sports of Somalia Mohamed Barre Mohamud has launched an investigation with the country’s National Olympics Committee. 

The Ministry of Youth and Sports should step down. It’s disheartening to witness such an incompetent government. How could they select an untrained girl to represent Somalia in running? It’s truly shocking and reflects poorly on our country internationally. pic.twitter.com/vMkBUA5JSL

— Elham Garaad ✍︎ (@EGaraad_) August 1, 2023

Early reports have suggested that the runner in question was neither a sportsperson nor a runner. The suspended athlteics chair Khadijo Aden Dahir was accused of “abuse of power, nepotism, and defaming the name of the nation” as per a statement which was shared by the ministry on social media.

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“Khadijo Aden Dahir, the Chairwoman of the Somali Athletics Federation, has engaged in acts of abuse of power, nepotism, and defaming the name of the nation in (the) international arena,” the minister said according to an offficial statement as corroborated by Reuters.

“Based on these findings, the Chairman of the Somalia National Olympics committee should suspend Khadijo Aden. Furthermore, the Ministry… firmly declares its intention to pursue legal action against both the Chairman of the Athletics Federation of Somalia and individuals responsible for the falsification of the Somali University Sports Association,” the same statement added.