UAE takes part in the IWAS World Games 2011

SHARJAH - UAE Disabled Sports Federation (UAEDSF) announced that the UAE team is ready for competitions of the IWAS World Games, in what is considered as the UAEDSF’s biggest participation in this event.

By (Wam)

Published: Fri 25 Nov 2011, 8:18 PM

Last updated: Tue 7 Apr 2015, 10:39 AM

The UAE’s delegation includes 17 female athletes in power lifting and athletics. 3 female athletes will compete in the power lifting and 14 in the athletics, including a number of elite champions and medalists in Asian, World and Paralympics competitions. Thouraya Al Zuaabi, double gold medalist in Javelin throw and shot put, and holder of two records at the Asian Para Games in Guangzhou will be among the UAE promising champions. Another prominent name is Asmaa AL Marzouqi, IWAS World Junior Games gold medalist in discus throw and Fatima Al Kaabi, first Gulf power lifting female athletes who participated in India and China competitions. The female teams include, also, other promising talents.

The IWAS World Games, to be held for the first time in the Middle East, will be hosted in the emirate of Sharjah from 1-10 December.

The UAE’s athletes, officials and coaches have been selected for the 10-day competition. The delegation is composed of 125 members, including 47 officials and coaches and 78 athletes to compete in 4 sports: swimming, shooting, power lifting and athletics. 5 athletes will compete in swimming, 6 in shooting, 13 in power lifting and 54 in athletics.

The UAE’s delegation is headed by Majid Abdullah Al Osaimi, Secretary General of the UAE Disabled Sports Federation and includes Thaiban Al Muhairi, Head of Teams Committees, Vice Chairman of the delegation, Mohammed Al Humadi, Shooting Team Official, Faleh Al Faisal, Swimming Team Official, Mr. Khalifa Hassan, Power Lifting Team Official and three officials for the Athletics team, namely Taleb Al Hosni, Ayoub Qassim and Fawaz Al Hashimi.

“The UAE participation in this championship is distinct at all levels. It is the largest ever in the history of the UAEDSF. The championship is hosted in the UAE for the first time and coincides with the UAE National Day and the International Day for the Disabled. In the light of these facts and the honorable history of our champions, we are very confident that our teams will achieve impressive wins in this prestigious event. All the technical delegates are exerting utmost efforts to ensure our athletes will reach their physical and technical peak in the competition,” Tareq Sultan bin Khadem, Deputy Chairman of the UAE Disabled Sports Federation, Executive Director of the UAE National Paralympic Committee, said.

“It an honor and privilege to host the IWAS World Games in the UAE in conjunction with the UAE National Day, the dear occasion to our hearts. This serves as a motivation for the UAE champions to put up their best performance and achieve impressive results. We are confident of their ability to do that. I would like on this occasion to pay tribute to members of all the committees who are sparing no efforts to make this global event a success. We thank, also, the government departments and private institutions for their significant contribution to the organizing efforts,” Majid Abdullah Al Osaimi, Secretary General of the UAE Disabled Sports Federation, Chairman of the UAE’s delegation, said.

“The UAE’s team includes a number of the best international athletes, 21 of them are qualified for the Paralympics. We expect gold medal in Athletics, Shooting and Power Lifting, and to increase the number of athletes qualified to the Paralympics Games London 2012. The IWAS World Games will be an excellent opportunity to create harmony between team members, enhance teamwork and share experiences with other teams. I would like on this occasion to pay tribute to all the clubs for handicapped in the country for their significant contribution to this strong team,” Thaiban Al Muhairi, Head of Teams Committees at the UAEDSF and Vice Chairman of the delegation, said:

Speaking on the readiness of the national shooting team, Abdullah Al Kamali, Shooting Team official, said: “I am fully confident that our national shooting team athletes will win a number of gold medals. We have the Australia and USA World Cup gold medalist Abdullah Sultan Al Ariani, Spain World Cup team gold medalists Obaid Al Dahmani and his teammate Saif Al Nuaimi. We are confident of our ability to make good results which will be added to the mass celebrations being held nationwide on the occasion of the UAE National Day and to dedicate new achievements to our country”.