https://arab.news/vnrhd
- The 2024 Paralympic Games start in Paris on Wednesday and will run until Sept. 8
JEDDAH: Wheelchair racer Abdulrahman Al-Qurashi and table tennis player Ghalia Al-Anzi will carry the Saudi flag at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games on Wednesday.
Al-Qurashi took bronze in the 100m wheelchair race at 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, gold in the 100m wheelchair race at the 2022 Asian Paralympic Games in Hangzhou, and gold in the 100m race at the 2024 World Paralympic Athletics Championships.
Meanwhile Al-Anzi achieved a bronze in the doubles competition at the French International Championship in 2023, a silver in the doubles at the 2024 Egyptian International Championship, and a silver in the singles at the 2024 Jordan International Championship 2024.
Along with Al-Qurashi and Al-Anzi, the Kingdom will be represented in the Paris Paralympic Games by Hassan Doshi (long jump), Noor Al-Sanaa (100m), Sarah Al-Jumaah (shot put), Ali Al-Nakhli (100m and 200m), Adnan Saeed (weightlifting), Ayad Al-Treik (taekwondo) and Ahmed Al-Sharbatly (dressage).
This year’s Saudi delegation will be the largest in terms of sports represented. The Kingdom first took part in the Paralympics at Atlanta in 1996 with two athletes. Since then, it has sent four athletes to Sydney in 2000, seven to Athens in 2004, and three to Beijing in 2008, where Osama Al-Shanqeeti won gold in the triple jump and silver in the high jump.
In 2012, four Saudi Paralympians went to London where Hani Al-Nakhli brought home a silver medal in the discus. He also managed to take bronze in the shot four years later, when three of the Kingdom’s athletes went to Rio de Janeiro.