Johannes Frey of Germany (left) and Javad Mahjoub of the Refugee Olympic Team compete during their elimination bout in the team judo competition at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games on Saturday in Japan. (VINCENT THIAN / AP)

By playing badminton, Aram Mahmoud of the refugee team at the Tokyo Games hopes to eventually be reunited with his family in Syria.

This year in Tokyo, the refugee team  has grown to 29 athletes competing in 12 sports

Mahmoud, who took up badminton at age 7 with his sister and was coached by his father, had become one of the best players in Syria, winning the national championship when he was 15. His sister, Sanaa, also excelled in badminton competition, including at the 2015 Asian Championships in Wuhan, Hubei province, in Central China.

Since 2015, however, he has not seen his family because the war in Syria escalated.

"I was waiting for the end of the crisis in my country; I got exactly the opposite. The crisis intensified and chaos was everywhere," Mahmoud said in a group interview.

Mahmoud left Syria for the Netherlands in 2015, as the war prevented him from studying or training.

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"Leaving my family, my friends, my homeland－that was the most difficult thing. I decided to leave because I wanted to search for a better future for myself, and also to feel safe, to live a normal life," he said.

After years of searching, waiting and adapting, Mahmoud could never imagine that one day, he'd be playing badminton at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games under the banner of the Refugee Olympic Team.

"When they announced my name, that I was in the team, it was one of the best moments in my life," said Mahmoud, who is now 24.

The refugee team was created by the International Olympic Committee to allow athletes to keep competing even if they have been forced to leave their home countries.

The team, also known by its IOC code EOR, the abbreviation for the French name Equipe Olympique des Refugies, made its debut at the 2016 Rio Olympics, when 10 athletes competed in the categories of athletics, judo and swimming.

This year in Tokyo, the team has grown to 29 athletes competing in 12 sports.

Although Mahmoud did not make a breakthrough against Indonesia's Jonatan Christie, the world's seventh-best men's singles player, he is nonetheless proud of his achievement. In addition to realizing his dream of becoming a world-class badminton player, he also had scored 14 points to Christie's 21 in their second match at Tokyo's Musashino Forest Sport Plaza on July 24.

"I represent me, I represent my family, I represent my sister," Mahmoud was quoted by Olympics.com as saying after his match, adding: "I'm playing not only for my country, but for refugees all around the world. We can achieve something－and there are a lot of people who need that motivation to achieve the unexpected."

Like Mahmoud, who had only limited training, EOR athletes have not yet clinched a medal at the Tokyo Olympics. Nevertheless, their dedication and determination to give their best has touched many people.

"We are well aware that compared to other athletes, we do not have the same facilities. We do not have the same training camps," said Nigara Shaheen, an Afghan judo athlete on the EOR team. "But it still didn't kill our spirit. Next time we will come back stronger."

On his message to refugees around the world, Javad Mahjoub, who left Iran for Canada and is another EOR judo competitor, said: "If you're a refugee, you have a life that is too hard. But to any refugees, I say, never forget your dream. If you lose your dream, you lose your life."

Filippo Grandi, head of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, said, "Surviving war, persecution and the anxiety of exile already makes them extraordinary people, but the fact that they now also excel as athletes on the world stage fills me with immense pride."

READ MORE: IOC: Tokyo Games refugee team to be finalized in June

In a message to the refugee athletes at the opening ceremony, IOC President Thomas Bach couldn't hide his pride in having a refugee team.

"With your talent and human spirit, you are demonstrating what an enrichment refugees are for society," Bach said. "You had to flee from your homes because of violence, hunger or just because you were different. Today, we welcome you with open arms and offer you a peaceful home. Welcome to our Olympic community."

Contact the writers at wangxu@chinadaily.com.cn