UAE Paralympic gold medallist Abdulla Al Aryani returned home with the a large contingent of the team that competed at the Tokyo Paralympic Games squad on Monday and immediately set his sights on winning a third gold at Paris 2024.
The Emirati shooter claimed his second Olympic gold by winning in the 50m Rifle 3P SH1 final in Tokyo, nine years after collecting his first in London.
Al Aryani, 51, spoke of the difficulty of competing under strict Covid-19 protocols and dedicated his medal to the UAE's rulers.
“London was my first gold and there was no pressure whatsoever,” he told The National at the airport’s VIP lounge on Monday early morning.
“Tokyo was very hard on everyone because of the daily coronavirus tests we had to undergo. It was very difficult for us in a competition like shooting because it required a lot of concentration.
“To return with a gold under these circumstances I think was a really good result for me. It needed four times the effort of London and I’m delighted I managed to bring gold for my country.
“I dedicate this medal for the Rulers of our country for the unstinted support they have provided us and to the people who sent us loads and loads of kind and motivating messages every day.”
Al Aryani, 51, struck gold in the Mixed 50m Air Rifle 3 Positions SH1 with a total score of 453.6, with Serbia's Laslo Suranji taking silver on 452.9. Shim Youngjip of South Korea completed the podium after a score of 442.2.
He also won gold in the Mixed 50m Rifle Prone in London and three silvers at Rio 2016, double gold at the 2018 World Championships in Cheongju, Korea, and a gold and silver at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta.
“The gold at Tokyo beats all of them because it was achieved under difficult conditions,” Al Aryani, who was left paralysed from below the waist down in a car accident in 2001, said of his latest achievement.
“On the positive side, Tokyo was a good experience. Not because of any organisational issues but the prevailing pandemic situation. It was an exceptional Paralympic Games.
“Looking ahead, I have three major events to look forward to. The Asian Games, the World Championships and Paris 2024. I will now take a little break and will be back preparing for Hangzhou [Asian Para Games].”
Saeed Abdul Ghaffar, general secretary of UAE General Sports Authority, and Aref Al Awani, general secretary of Abu Dhabi Sports Council, were at the airport to welcome back the Paralympic team.
Mohamed Al Hammadi, who won a silver and bronze in the T34 wheelchair 800m and 100m and powerlifter Mohammed Khamis Khalaf were not among the UAE squad returning to Abu Dhabi. Both are scheduled to arrive in Dubai on Tuesday.
The 12-member squad returned with a gold, silver and bronze, which according to Mohammed Fadhel Al Hameli, chairman of the UAE Paralympic Committee who accompanied the team as chef de mission, was a “good achievement” given the pandemic situation.
“We can take a lot of positives from Tokyo,” he said. “It has been an exceptional Paralympic Games and we understand the difficulties our athletes had to go through and they were necessitated by the prevailing situation around the world.
“From this experience, we will be better prepared if the Covid situation still prevail during the Asian Games, which is our next major event.
“Even otherwise, we have a good programme drawn up for our para athletes. We will continue to provide them all the support and draw up external camps to prepare for our next major event.”
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Jumanji: The Next Level
Director: Jake Kasdan
Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, Jack Black, Nick Jonas
Two out of five stars
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Details
Kabir Singh
Produced by: Cinestaan Studios, T-Series
Directed by: Sandeep Reddy Vanga
Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Kiara Advani, Suresh Oberoi, Soham Majumdar, Arjun Pahwa
Rating: 2.5/5
MATCH INFO
Newcastle 2-2 Manchester City
Burnley 0-2 Crystal Palace
Chelsea 0-1 West Ham
Liverpool 2-1 Brighton
Tottenham 3-2 Bournemouth
Southampton v Watford (late)
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
CHATGPT%20ENTERPRISE%20FEATURES
%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Enterprise-grade%20security%20and%20privacy%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Unlimited%20higher-speed%20GPT-4%20access%20with%20no%20caps%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Longer%20context%20windows%20for%20processing%20longer%20inputs%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Advanced%20data%20analysis%20capabilities%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Customisation%20options%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Shareable%20chat%20templates%20that%20companies%20can%20use%20to%20collaborate%20and%20build%20common%20workflows%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Analytics%20dashboard%20for%20usage%20insights%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Free%20credits%20to%20use%20OpenAI%20APIs%20to%20extend%20OpenAI%20into%20a%20fully-custom%20solution%20for%20enterprises%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Fly Etihad or Emirates from the UAE to Moscow from 2,763 return per person return including taxes.
Where to stay
Trips on the Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian cost from US$16,995 (Dh62,414) per person, based on two sharing.
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
The specs
Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now
The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.3-litre%204cyl%20turbo%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E299hp%20at%205%2C500rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E420Nm%20at%202%2C750rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E10-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E12.4L%2F100km%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENow%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh157%2C395%20(XLS)%3B%20Dh199%2C395%20(Limited)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
Bert van Marwijk factfile
Born: May 19 1952
Place of birth: Deventer, Netherlands
Playing position: Midfielder
Teams managed:
1998-2000 Fortuna Sittard
2000-2004 Feyenoord
2004-2006 Borussia Dortmund
2007-2008 Feyenoord
2008-2012 Netherlands
2013-2014 Hamburg
2015-2017 Saudi Arabia
2018 Australia
Major honours (manager):
2001/02 Uefa Cup, Feyenoord
2007/08 KNVB Cup, Feyenoord
World Cup runner-up, Netherlands
THE BIO
BIO:
Born in RAK on December 9, 1983
Lives in Abu Dhabi with her family
She graduated from Emirates University in 2007 with a BA in architectural engineering
Her motto in life is her grandmother’s saying “That who created you will not have you get lost”
Her ambition is to spread UAE’s culture of love and acceptance through serving coffee, the country’s traditional coffee in particular.
Bio:
Favourite Quote: Prophet Mohammad's quotes There is reward for kindness to every living thing and A good man treats women with honour
Favourite Hobby: Serving poor people
Favourite Book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite food: Fish and vegetables
Favourite place to visit: London
First Person
Richard Flanagan
Chatto & Windus
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
