PARA ATHLETICS – Bahrain’s Para athletics national team member Mohamed Alhaddar clinched the bronze medal yesterday in the men’s 100 metres T71/T72 category at the fifth Asian Para Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.
Alhaddar secured his place on the podium after completing his final in 22.99 seconds and with 643 Raza points – a new T71 Asian record – at Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium.
Khurshid Kodirov of Uzbekistan took the gold medal in 15.40s and with 934 Raza points, which was a new T72 Asian record, while Mohammed Alqahtani from Saudi Arabia captured silver in 16.58s and 662 Raza points.
Raza points are part of a scoring system in Para athletics to rank athletes with different types or degrees of impairment in competition.
The men’s 100m T71/T72 final featured a strong Bahraini presence, with Alhaddar being joined by countrymen Alyas Ahmed and Saad Saad, both T72 competitors. Ahmed ranked fifth in 17.34s with 453 Raza points while Saad was eighth in 20.93s with two Raza points.
The kingdom’s three athletes vying for gold highlighted Bahrain’s growing competitiveness in Para athletics amidst fierce competition against some of Asia’s top Para athletes, said the Bahrain Paralympic Committee.
Alhaddar’s bronze was the third medal for Bahrain’s delegation at this year’s Asian Para Games. It added to the two clinched by Bahrain’s superstar Para athlete Rooba Alomari, who had already bagged a silver medal in the women’s discus throw F55 category and a bronze in the women’s shot put F55/F56/F57 class.
Aside from Para athletics, Bahrain’s talents in Aichi-Nagoya are also taking part in weightlifting, badminton, and boccia.
&uuid=(email))