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.”
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Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
Under-21 European Championship Final
Germany 1 Spain 0
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- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
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- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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Rating: 4/5
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Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
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Ship name: MSC Bellissima
Ship class: Meraviglia Class
Delivery date: February 27, 2019
Gross tonnage: 171,598 GT
Passenger capacity: 5,686
Crew members: 1,536
Number of cabins: 2,217
Length: 315.3 metres
Maximum speed: 22.7 knots (42kph)
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
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Arrizabalaga, Bettinelli, Rudiger, Christensen, Silva, Chalobah, Sarr, Azpilicueta, James, Kenedy, Alonso, Jorginho, Kante, Kovacic, Saul, Barkley, Ziyech, Pulisic, Mount, Hudson-Odoi, Werner, Havertz, Lukaku.
PROFILE OF SWVL
Started: April 2017
Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport
Size: 450 employees
Investment: approximately $80 million
Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani
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Water waste
In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.
Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.
A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.
The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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2.
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China
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3.
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UAE
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4.
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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Saturday, May 16 (kick-offs UAE time)
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