The volleyball players have gathered at the multi-sport competition despite being apart from their families and dispersed around Asia, thanks to Olympic officials and the world volleyball organisation.
In defiance of the Taliban government's hostility towards female sport, a team of Afghan women practise for their first Asian Games on a spotless volleyball court on the seventh floor of a huge training facility in the Chinese city of Hangzhou.
The volleyball players have gathered at the multi-sport competition despite being apart from their families and dispersed around Asia, thanks to Olympic officials and the world volleyball organisation.
Following the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, the Taliban took power, and some Afghans fled their country out of fear of persecution from a government that had practically outlawed women's sports.
They have rebuilt their lives in Pakistan, Iran, and other nations, playing sports in what amounts to an effective exile, with little chance of coming home.
They desire to give hope to those who have none—the female athletes who were abandoned in their own country—and are now in Hangzhou.
A 24-year-old volleyball player from Pakistan named Mursal Khedri told Reuters that people are now searching for optimism.
"By seeing us here, they can gain confidence that we (women) can engage in sports as well."
According to the Taliban administration's understanding of Islamic law and Afghan tradition, women's rights are respected, and they have declared a "general amnesty" against those who opposed them in the past under the previous foreign-backed government.
BIG ACCOMPLISHMENT
The team practises with hijabs under the direction of seasoned Iranian coach Nasrin Khazani while sporting lycra leggings and shirts in the traditional colours of Afghanistan—red, black, and green.
On Saturday, the women's volleyball tournament gets underway, and they face Kazakhstan in their opening group match.
They are unlikely to advance to the knockout stages, and securing even one victory would be an impressive feat for a group of exiles competing against nations with well-organized programming and official support.
According to Khushal Malakzai, secretary general of the Afghanistan Volleyball Federation, even the fact that they were recognised by the Games is a victory for women in the nation.
The girls' participation in these types of matches and coming here actually gives them hope for the future, which is crucial for both us and them, he told Reuters.
"And for those girls who are inside Afghanistan and outside Afghanistan, they should understand that there are still people who are supporting them."
Malakzai, the team's organiser and fundraising champion, has been living in Melbourne, Australia, for a little over a year. Originally from Afghanistan, he first went to Pakistan out of concern for his safety.
He claimed that because of his support for women's sports, Taliban agents repeatedly threatened him by phone and in letter, and he ultimately decided to leave the nation on the advise of Afghanistan's volleyball organisation.
Requests for comment from a Taliban government spokeswoman were not immediately fulfilled.
Malakzai was initially excited and composed when discussing the women's squad, but as he witnessed the athletes gather in a circle on the volleyball court, join hands and scream "Afghanistan!" at the conclusion of their practise, he started crying.
I'm overjoyed that they can be here. But there is no chance for the Afghan females back home, he continued.
While competing at a high level in Hangzhou is exciting for the Afghan ladies, there are also some nerves.
There are 17 in all, and they compete in athletics, cycling, and volleyball.
The Afghanist was carried by Australian Kimia Yousofi, who will compete in the women's 100-meter race.
She did not want attention, according to her Australian coach John Quinn, in case her connections to Afghanistan were used as fodder for retaliation.
Rather than the white flag flown by the Taliban administration, the Afghan men and women marched together as a team during the opening ceremony.
Male athletes and Afghan-based sports authorities are part of the group.
Due to the delicate nature of the situation, they are unlikely to show up at competition sites to support the women's volleyball team or other Afghan women athletes.
Malakzai had little hope that anything would change in the near future.
Therefore, he added, "We expect that things will improve and the Taliban would even accept the women.
"But it will take some time."