The seven-athlete Saudi Arabian delegation for the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games are in the final stages of preparation for the tournament, which will run from Aug. 24 until Sept. 5 in the Japanese capital.
Taking part over the next two weeks will be Abdulrahman Al-Qurashi, Fahad Al-Junaidel, Ali Al-Nakhli, Hassan Doshi, Sarah Al-Jumaah, and Al-Hanouf Abu Hamed in athletics; Maryam Al-Muraisel in table tennis; and Ahmed Al-Sharbatly in the equestrian event.
Last Sunday, the Saudi National Paralympic Committee held a presentation ceremony in Riyadh for the athletes during which Ahmad bin Abdul Aziz Al-Mugairin, president of the NPC, told Sports 24 TV: “In the past, there was only participation from the said athletes. Now our targets have changed. Now it’s about achievement.”
The recent 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games saw Saudi karate star Tarek Hamdi return home with a silver medal, and there are hopes that the Kingdom’s Paralympic athletes can add to that success.
Here is the schedule for all their initial participations with the potential for more action depending on their individual progress and the nature of the event.
Maryam Al-Muraisel
Sport: Table Tennis
Participation: Individual (Aug. 25 — 10 a.m. KSA), Individual (Aug. 26 — 3 a.m. KSA)
Ahmed Al-Sharbatly
Sport: Equestrian
Participation: Individual Jumping (Aug. 26 — 9 a.m. KSA), Dressage (Aug. 30— 9 a.m. KSA)
Ali Al-Nakhli
Sport: Athletics
Participation: 100m (Aug. 27 — 1:20 p.m. KSA), 200m (Sept. 4 — 4:24 a.m. KSA)
Sarah Al-Jumaah
Sport: Athletics
Participation: Shot Put (Sept. 1 — 1:04 p.m. KSA)
Abdulrahman Al-Qurashi
Sport: Athletics
Participation: Wheelchair 100m (Sept. 1 — 1:15 p.m. KSA), Wheelchair 400m (Sept. 1 — 1:58 p.m. KSA)
Fahad Al-Junaidel
Sport: Athletics
Participation: Wheelchair 100m (Sept. 1 — 1:15 p.m. KSA)
Hassan Doshi
Sport: Athletics
Participation: Long Jump (Sept. 4 — 1:08 p.m. KSA)
