Hammadi, Rasheedy dazzle

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The UAE’s Siham Al Rasheedy makes the grade to the Rio Paralympics in the discus event.
The UAE's Siham Al Rasheedy makes the grade to the Rio Paralympics in the discus event.

Dubai - Hammadi won the 200m, 400m and 800m T34 titles earlier this week.

By Moni Mathews

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Published: Sat 12 Mar 2016, 11:00 PM

Last updated: Sun 13 Mar 2016, 2:07 PM

 Para athletes Mohamed Hammadi and Siham Al Rasheedy kept the UAE flag flying high on the fifth day of the inaugural IPC Athletics Asia-Oceania Championships at the Police Officers' Club Stadium in Jadaf on Friday night.
Standing way on top was wheelchair specialist Hammadi who clinched his fourth gold medal of the meet on the penultimate day with a superb win in the 100m T34 final to cement his status as a contender for the title in the Rio Paralympics. Hammadi won the 200m, 400m and 800m T34 titles earlier this week.
"I am happy to get four medals. This is good preparation for me for the road to Rio," said the 30-year-old world silver medallist who believes training is more important than competition in the build-up to the Paralympic Games.
"I have two events in Rio - 100 and 800. The first 10 or 15 metres in the 100 is most important and in the 800, learning to pace yourself during two laps is key. I was able to check how things are going for me technically but my focus is on training," said Hammadi who is looking forward to competitions in Sharjah and the Fazza Championships.
Second at the Asian Para Games in Guangzhou, Siham qualified for the Rio Games on Friday with a silver medal effort of 24.67m (708 points) in the women's discus. The Sharjah athlete finished behind Iran's Hashemiyeh Motaghian Moavi (F56) on points.
Siham said: "I have more to go in training and am getting better on my delivery technique which my coach Fatma will help me out with in the coming months. Getting a ticket to Rio is a great occasion for all of us, not just me."
"The event was mixed with 54 and 57 (categories). She (Siham) lost the gold medal by points not by performance. She is the best I'm sure. She will be the best in all of Asia and the world one day soon, hopefully," said the UAE athlete's Tunisian coach Fatma.
"My target is to be the best in the world one day and will work hard to give a good performance in the Paralympic Games," said Siham who was infected by polio since she was six months old but doesn't consider it a physical handicap.
Noura set a new Asian mark adding nearly one metre to her previous best with a throw of 4.39m (436 points) in the women's shot put F32-34.
Sri Lankan sergeant of the commando unit, Anil Prasanna Jayalath, beat Japan's Atsushi Yamamoto for the second time in Dubai to clinch a golden double.
The 30-year-old won the men's 100m T42 to add to his 200m title and declared he was to improve his winning time of 12.62 as he prepares to go for gold at this year's Paralympic Games. 
Jayalath said: "Getting a good time was important for me today than just winning the 100m. I want to improve my time even more before the Games so I can really do something there."
moni@khaleejtimes.com 


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