(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) By Salman Al-Mutairi


KUWAIT, Aug 27 (KUNA) -- Kuwait Disabled Sports Club has attained many Paralympic accomplishments since participating in 1980 until the last in Tokyo 2020, gathering 52 different medal throughout.


The Disabled Kuwaitis champions participated in a variety of sports and won 11 competitions, including Archery, Swimming, Table Tennis, Weightlifting, Fencing, and others.


The history of participation began with the Kuwait Disabled Sports Club taking part in the Arnhem, Netherlands, 1980 Paralympics, winning two gold, two silver, and one bronze medals, as for the second competition in Stoke Mandeville, England, 1984 they won eight different medals consisting of one gold, three silver, and four bronze.


Disabled Sports champions' participation in Seoul, South Korea, 1988 Olympics was considered the best after winning 17 medals including five gold, five silver, and seven bronze medals, and in Barcelona, Spain, 1992 Olympics they won one gold, three silver, and one bronze.


Kuwait team won three medals in the Atlanta, US, 1996 Paralympics they also won five medals in Sidney, Australia, 2000, as for Athena, Greece, 2004 Olympics they won six medals.


Kuwait team did not win any medals in the Beijing, China, Paralympics and London, UK, but in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 2016 Kuwait won one gold medal and in Tokyo, Japan, 2020 they won one silver medal and one bronze, in total Kuwait Disabled Sports Club secured 12 gold medals, 18 silver medals, and 22 bronze medals.


Kuwait Disabled Sports Club is preparing for the upcoming Paris, France 2024 Paralympics, which will be held from August 28th to September eighth with three participants in Athletics sports (running and throwing) after training in camps in Turkey and UAE to compete.


On the Kuwaiti preparation, the board chairman of the Paralympics committee and the head of the Kuwait delegation Mansour Al-Sarhid told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA), "We seek through the administrative and technical efforts of the team to complete the journey for Kuwait's champions who are participating in the Paralympics".


Al-Sarhid highlighted that Kuwait's team has a high potential to compete in international and global competitions thanks to training camps, having sufficient time to exercise, and being supported by official bodies in the country such as Youth Public Authority and Public Authority for Sport.


On his side, Athletics Paralympic champion Faisal Al-Sorour said that he insisted on achieving a high record to add to his sports accomplishments to enhance and develop Kuwait team athletic performance for any sports competitions.


Al-Sorour added, that he was trying his best to exercise in the training camps with the help of the head of the delegation and coaches to win an advanced position after winning in third place and getting a bronze medal in Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, hoping that he and his colleagues would win and make their country proud.


Athletics Paralympic champion Ahmad Al-Mutairi added, on his part, that he was proud of Kuwait Disabled Sports Club for providing many accomplishments for disabled people in Kuwait by the administrative and technical staff.


Al-Mutairi noted that the staff efforts made it possible for him to win two medals in wheelchair racing, one of them a gold medal in the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Paralympics and the other one is silver medal in Tokyo 2020 Paralympics.


In addition, Al-Mutairi won three global medals in events in Doha 2015, London 2017, and Dubai 2019 and he also achieved three world records in wheelchair racing.


Al-Mutairi praised Kuwaiti athletes and their sports capabilities, and the official bodies for removing obstacles, providing the needs for the champions, and most importantly giving them an active role in participating in international and global competitions to achieve different medals in various sports.


The Paralympic Games are for people with varying disabilities. It is not a sport only for people with physical disabilities, rather, there are the Special Olympics Global Games, which is a sporting event for athletes with mental disabilities, and the Special Olympics Kuwait team won 21 medals -- seven gold, 10 silver, four bronze -- against seven thousand athletes around the world. (end)


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