Hakizimana, a Burundian refugee living in Rwanda, was one of six athletes named in the team in different events.

As long as he is reclassified in time, he is set to compete in the men's under-61-kilograms division when taekwondo makes its Paralympic debut at Tokyo 2020.

Until a few months ago, Hakizimana was based in the Mahama Refugee Camp, the biggest in Rwanda with more than 50,000 refugees. More recently, he has been training in the Rwandan capital Kigali.

At the camp, Hakizimana organised a taekwondo school and has trained more than 1,000 refugee children.

He has also prepared himself for elite competitions.

He competed in the 2017 African Open Championships in Kigali, Rwanda, where he won his first match before losing 18-12 to the top-seeded, three-time world champion Aythami Santana of Spain in the under-61 kilograms K44 division quarter-final.

Hakizimana's participation in Tokyo is contingent on his reclassification by August 1. As a refugee, it has been hard to receive the necessary visas to travel to tournaments, making classification challenging.

World Taekwondo has confirmed that he will be reclassified before the deadline.

"We are thrilled with the announcement that Burundian refugee Parfait Hakizimana will be representing the Refugee Team at the Tokyo Paralympic Games this summer," said World Taekwondo President Chungwon Choue, who also chairs the THF Board, said.

"Few athletes have had to overcome the conditions of Mr. Hakizimana, who until recently lived, taught, and trained in Rwanda's Mahama Refugee Camp."

Hakizimana started a taekwondo school at the camp and is credited with having trained more than 1,000 refugee children.

While living in a camp for internally displaced people in 1996, because of the Burundian Civil War, he lost his mother and received an injury that left his arm permanently debilitated when he was eight.

Fearing for his life, he later left the country permanently when unrest in Burundi flared up again in 2015.

"Refugees don't have a lot," he told the UNHCR. "But sport helps them forget their troubles."

The Refugee Paralympic Team represents more than 82 million people worldwide, who have been forced to flee war, persecution, and human rights abuses. Twelve million of them live with a disability.

Choue noted the work of the THF, which was created by World Taekwondo in 2016. The Foundation has supported Hakizimana and he is now a THF coach. 

"World Taekwondo remains committed to empowering refugees through taekwondo, which is why we started the Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation in the first place," he said. "Many refugees around the world, including those based in refugee camps like Mr. Hakizimana, have benefited from its support."

Dr. Choue also thanked the different groups that helped Hakizimana along the way.

"We congratulate Mr. Hakizimana on his achievement and would like to acknowledge the work put in by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), World Taekwondo, the Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation and the Rwandan Taekwondo Federation," he said. 

"And we wish Parfait the best of luck as he pursues his Paralympic dream in Tokyo this summer."