From war to victory: Top 5 sporting victories from war-torn nations

War ravages nations and in most cases renders a nation incapable of participating in international sporting events. So it is all the more creditable when these countries are able to rise up from the devastating effects of war and create some truly remarkable sporting history.

Here are the top 5 war-to-victory stories starting with Afghanistan’s qualification for the cricket World Cup in 2015 yesterday.

Afghanistan qualify for the ICC cricket World Cup

Afghan cricket fans celebrate their teams victory in the match between Afghanistan and Kenya as they watch it on a big screen at the International Cricket Stadium in Kabul on October 4, 2013. War-torn Afghanistan erupted in wild celebrations as its cricket team beat Kenya to qualify for the 2015 World Cup, just 12 years after the game took hold in the wake of the Taliban’s fall.

A wave of celebrations took place across Afghanistan yesterday after their cricket team achieved the distinction of qualifying for the ICC cricket World Cup in 2015 for the very first time.

The Afghans beat Kenya by seven wickets on Friday in what was their final qualifying match in Sharjah. They dismissed the Kenyans for just 93 runs and chased down the target with ease with their captain leading the way.

Joyous fans watched the event live in a stadium in Kabul where a big screen was set up. The fans later took to the streets of the capital to celebrate and similar celebrations erupted in other cities as people gathered in public places on the occasion.

The captain of the Afghan team, Mohammad Nabi, said that the win was “a gift to a young generation”.

“I can’t express my feelings,” Nabi said. “It is a very big day in my life. I’m sure there will be huge celebrations back home. I’m happy for the people of Afghanistan and look forward to playing in Australia and New Zealand.”

NATO an allied forces, led primarily by the USA, launched an all-out war on Afghanistan in a bid to oust the ruling Taliban government which was ruled to be helping out the Al-Qaeda, the organization that claimed responsibility for the 9/11 attacks in the United States.

The war is now into its 11th year and despite assurances of a withdrawal of troops from the early years of the war, with the country’s public services and infrastructure still crippled thanks to the decade-long war.