PARA TAEKWONDO – Bahrain made Para sports history over the weekend after topping the overall Para poomsae team standings in the 10th Asian Para Taekwondo Championships, held in Kuching, Malaysia.
The kingdom’s Para taekwondo national team secured their spot atop the ranking after winning nine medals, headlined by five gold, in the competition, held under the banner of The Asian Taekwondo Union.
The Bahrainis also bagged three silver medals and one bronze medal to finish in first place amongst the eight participating nations in the Para poomsae categories.
Capturing gold for Bahrain were Rooba Alomari, Rawan Alsaad, Zaina Albalooshi, Nasser Hubail, and Nassar Alwaqza.
Alomari struck gold in the women’s senior P51 category, while Alsaad won hers in the women’s senior P22 class, where she led a Bahraini clean sweep of the podium. Noora Zainal won the silver medal and Hajer Aljawder took the bronze.
Albalooshi took gold for Bahrain in the women’s senior P72 class, where she was joined in the top three by Indians Radha Sivakumar and Aruna Sivakumar.
Hubail, meanwhile, claimed his gold in the men’s senior P21 division, where he led a Bahraini one-two with Ali Husain taking silver.
Alwaqza clinched Bahrain’s fifth gold in the men’s senior P51 class, which he won ahead of silver-medallist Goutham Yadav of India.
The national team’s other silver medal was won by Yasmeen Fekri in the women’s senior P21 category, completing the impressive nine-medal haul. Thailand’s Watcharaporn Phrasophon took the gold ahead of Fekri.
Finishing behind Bahrain on the team standings were India, Kazakhstan, Iraq, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Saudi Arabia.
Aside from the medals, the Bahrain Paralympic Committee (BPC) revealed that Bahrain’s delegation members also came away with other prestigious awards in the event. Fajar AlBinAli was honoured with an award for being the best coach for women, while Alsaad took home the best athlete award amongst women. Alomari also posted the highest score in the competition, reflecting the technical and competitive excellence of the Bahraini Para taekwondo team.
Commenting on Bahrain’s success in Kuching, Para taekwondo team head coach Tawfiq Nuwaiser expressed his pride in their achievement, and stressed that it was the result of continuous planning and teamwork between the technical staff and the BPC. He praised the Para athletes’ performances, which he said presented an honourable image of Bahraini sports.
For her part, AlBinAli affirmed that the achievement was a true testament to the development of the Para taekwondo sport in the kingdom. She noted that it is a result of the care and support provided by the wise leadership to people of determination, which has enabled them to represent the country at all levels of competition.
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