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The kingdom is thrilled to be hosting the third West Asian Paralympic Games in 2021 and the Bahrain Paralympic Committee (BPC) is already scouting for new rising stars to compete under the red and white banner.
The announcement of the Games, which will be staged in Bahrain from September 25 to October 2, was made at a press conference held at the Bahrain Sports Federation for People with Disabilities, on Saturday evening.
The conference was attended by BPC president Shaikh Mohamed bin Duaij Al Khalifa, BPC secretary-general Ali Al Majed, president of West Asia Para Federation Dr Abdul Razzak Bani, secretary-general of West Asia Para Federation Dr Mesbah Jaafar, BPC members, para-athletes and members of the media.
During the event, BPC’s secretary-general Al Majed stated that the tournament will welcome athletes from 12 countries to compete in six games.
He added: “This tournament will be the largest Paralympic event hosted in the kingdom, where the BPC aims to continue hosting regional and international meetings and tournaments to position Bahrain as a forefront for Paralympic competitions as well as support and train potential and existing Bahraini para-athletes to excel.
“We have been participating in the West Asian Games since it first was launched in 2017. We currently have more than 100 athletes on hand and we are looking to double that number by 2021 in order to participate in all the categories staged during the Games. We are looking forward to competing in every sport!”
The first edition of the Games was staged in United Arab Emirates in 2017 with para-athletes competing in five sports including athletics, powerlifting, goalball (a team sport designed for athletes with visual impairment), table tennis and wheelchair basketball. The second edition of the multi-sport event was held in Jordan.
In 2021, the tournament will have added Boccia to its roster of games.
Boccia is a precision ball sport that is contested at local, national and international levels by athletes with severe physical disabilities.
BPC committee member Eman Hassan, who works in the Ministry of Education in the directorate of physical education scouts and girls guide, is helping in organising various local sporting events for athletes with impairments to recruit new talent.
The 38-year-old, who started off as an athletics coach for the disabled from 2004 to 2018, said: “In preparation for the West Asian Games as well as the global Paralympic Games held in Tokyo in 2020, we are hosting different events in the kingdom such as ‘Inta Ba6al’ (You’re a Champion) to attract aspiring athletes to join the ranks of the Bahrain Paralympic team. Instead of going to people’s homes hunting for fresh new faces, we are creating a comfortable space for parents to bring their children to compete and mingle with others.”
The agreement was signed by Shaikh Mohamed bin Duaij Al Khalifa, Dr Ahmed Bani Rashid, as well as Dr Jaafar A lMajed.
For details, follow @bahrainnpc on Instagram or visit them on www.bnpc.bh
