Wednesday, February 23, 2022 – 10:49 am
Manama, February 23 / WAM / The hero Mohammed Al Zarooni presented the UAE with the first gold medal in the “Badminton” competitions, during his participation in the third edition of the West Asian Paralympic Games “Bahrain 2022”, which witnessed yesterday the opening of our team for People of Determination by winning four titles. Colorful medals in badminton, table tennis, and boccia.
Youssef Al Kaabi won the silver medal in the table tennis competition in the “singles” category, and the duo, Raisa Al Falasi and Hamdan Al Kaabi, won silver and bronze medals, respectively, in the final ranking of the “Boccia” category “PC4” that was held at Isa Sports City Hall in Manama.
Mohamed Fadel Al Hamli, Chairman of the National Paralympic Committee, congratulated the Knights of Will on the strong start in the West Asian Games and the achievement of colored medals, stressing the importance of keenness on honoring the UAE’s honorable representation, and constantly striving to achieve more achievements.
For his part, Juma Al Nuaimi, a member of the Board of Directors of the National Paralympic Committee and director of our team’s mission, praised the honorable appearance of the UAE national team players for people of determination, in all competitions, and said: “We witnessed distinguished levels, beginning with team games in wheelchair basketball, and winning colorful medals in individual games. In badminton, table tennis and boccia, we commend the great commitment of the players in training and their determination to multiply their achievements in all competitions.”
It is expected that the march of winning the colored medals for the UAE national team for people of determination will continue, with the start of the powerlifting competitions, which will be held throughout the day and tomorrow at the Polytechnic University in Isa Sports City. Al-Ansari, Khaled Al-Hammadi, Ahmed Al-Balushi, Saif Al-Zaabi, Fahd Muhammad, Adel Shanbeh, Rashid Hassan, Haifa Al-Naqbi, and Moza Al-Zeyoudi.
For his part, our national wheelchair basketball team won second place at the end of the third round, after losing to its Saudi rival by one basket, 60-62, in the exciting confrontation that brought the two teams together at Khalifa International Stadium, which coincided with the Kingdom’s celebrations on the occasion of the “Foundation Day of the Kingdom.” Saudi Arab.” He raised his score to 4 points, from a victory over Bahrain in the first round, and two losses in a row against Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, and he will end his career with a final confrontation with his counterpart Oman tomorrow evening in the fifth and final round, waiting for him to be crowned with a silver or bronze medal if the rest of the results are in his favour.
Ahmed Jassem, our coach for the wheelchair basket, described the performance as good despite the loss to Al-Akhdar by a basket difference, and said: “The players played a good match, and they can compensate in the last round match against Oman, which may guarantee obtaining the second or third place medal, according to the final ranking.” .
For his part, Mesbah Ibrahim Jaafar, Secretary-General of the Paralympic Federation for West Asia, praised the strong competition in the third edition of the West Asian Paralympic Games, which was accompanied by the ideal organization of Bahrain, and said: “With great success, the West Asian Games activities continue in Manama as the largest tournament in the region with the participation of 12 countries. All preparations are fine, and we commend the efforts of the local organizing committee, as well as the commitment of all delegations.
The Secretary-General pointed out that the successes of the West Asian Paralympic Games were directly reflected in the demand and competition among the countries of the region to host the Games in the next editions, as the UAE will organize the fourth edition in 2024 in Khor Fakkan, Sharjah, while the Sultanate of Oman will host the fifth edition in 2026.
Wam/Amin Al-Double/Dina Omar