Wearing a French dobok but competing as a refugee athlete, Khudadadi dug deep to clinch a dramatic victory over defending champion Nurcihan Ekinci of Turkey in the women’s under-47 kilogram final at the Rotterdam Ahoy.

Khudadadi was on the cusp of defeat as she trailed 6-4 with seconds remaining before her French coach called a timeout.

It proved to be a pivotal decision as Khudadadi came back out to level the scores before landing the decisive blow in golden score to snatch the gold medal away from Ekinci.

Khudadadi struggled to hold back the tears as she claimed her first European title - two years after leaving her home country.

"I’m really happy because it’s the first time I’ve won the gold medal," said Khudadadi.

"I’m from Afghanistan, but now I’m [competing as a] refugee because my country has many problems for women.

"Now I’m continuing for Paris 2024.

"I’m just so happy, really happy.

"For me this medal is a very big medal.

"I’m the first handicapped woman from Afghanistan to win [a gold medal like this]."

Hundreds of thousands of Afghan citizens have escaped the country since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021 following the withdrawal of American troops.

The hardline Islamist group severely restricts the rights of women and girls under its interpretation of Sharia law, forcing them to cover their faces in public, travel with men and be excluded from secondary education and sporting activities.

The Taliban takeover raised doubts over whether Khudadadi and long jumper Hossain Rasouli would be able to make it to the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics.

But the pair managed to reach France before taking a flight to the Japanese capital where they competed and carried the Afghanistan flag at the Closing Ceremony.

"It’s a little hard for me to speak about Tokyo," said a tearful Khudadadi.

"It broke my heart.

"I left my country, my home.

"It’s difficult, Tokyo is very difficult for me.

"Because of everything.

"Now, I’m continuing for every competition, more medals.

"I’m focused on a medal at the Paralympic Games.

"In Tokyo, I had a chance but it’s finished.

"Now, I’m going for the gold medal for Afghanistan, for the refugee team.

"I will continue strong for Paris 2024."

Khudadadi paid tribute to the French Taekwondo Federation for allowing her to train for the team but expects to continue to represent World Taekwondo’s refugee team.

"I don’t have a French passport," added Khudadadi.

"I’m happy to just continue for a Paralympic medal, because for me it’s really important.

"And for my country also, because for women it would be big [if I win a medal], it would be a message for every woman in Afghanistan."

Despite Ekinci’s defeat, it proved to be a successful day for the Turkish taekwondo team.

Ali Can Özcan overcame Israel's Assaf Yasur 37-26 in an entertaining men's under-58kg final.

Yasur, a 2021 world champion, got the first points on the board in what turned out to be a high-scoring encounter.

They were locked 12-12 before Can Özcan put together a 10-point burst to pull away from his opponent.

Yasur threw everything at Can Özcan but the Turkish fighter responded in equal measure to extend his lead before winning by an 11-point margin.

This was followed by a gold for Turkey’s Meryem Betül Çavdar who defeated Azerbaijan’s Royala Fataliyeva in the women’s under-52kg final.

Betül Çavdar, a silver medallist at Tokyo 2020, got off to a flying start, landing a succession of shots to move 8-0 in front.

Fataliyeva struggled to trouble Betül Çavdar who continued to strengthen her lead in the second half of the bout.

A timeout was called by Fataliyeva’s team but it did little to change things as Çavdar scored another two points in the closing stages to complete an emphatic victory.

Competition is due to continue tomorrow with more medals set to be awarded in Para taekwondo.