Jamil El Shebli claimed Jordan’s third Paralympic gold of Tokyo 2020, after a hard-fought competition in the men’s +107kg category, that resulted in Mena countries dominating the podium in Japan.
After an intense contest of the tightest of margins with Iran’s Mansour Pourmirzaei, El Shebli did enough to secure his first Paralympic title winning by bodyweight. Pourmirzaei took silver, with Iraq’s Al-Ageeli claiming bronze.
It was nothing short of a strategic masterclass by El Shebli that earned him his first Paralympic title. By starting with the heaviest weight on his attempt, the 42-year-old was the last to lift in each round.
This advantage allowed the Rio bronze medalist to follow the progress of his Iranian rival, and being 25kg lighter than Mourmirzaei, he knew that he would just have to match him on attempts to surpass him on the results board.
This left it to the 40-year-old Iranian to set the bar on the second attempt, lifting 241kg, which El Shebli matched. It was then on the final lift, the Iranian raised the weight and the bar to 246kg. It was an ambitious increase, a risk that failed to pay off as he was unable to complete the lift. By the time El Shebli went under the bar, the gold medal was already his.
El Shebli was clearly pleased on the podium as he collected his prize, it had been a long-time coming. This was the man from Amman’s fifth Paralympics, having competed in the shot put in Athen’s and Beijing where he won silver, and then finished fourth in London 2012.
In Rio 2016, he switched to powerlifting and earned bronze in a final that was dominated by a legend now sorely missed in the sport.
It was an emotional final for Pourmirzaei, who if he had won said he would dedicate his gold medal to the memory of the legendary Siamand Rahman, the Iranian powerlifting legend who had won gold in +100kg weight category in 2012 and +107kg category in 2016.
Rahman, whose astounding world record of 310kg, set in Rio 2016, is almost 70kg heavier than the heaviest lift today, died following a cardiac arrest in March 2020.
It was an impressive performance too from Iraq’s Faris Al-Ageeli. The London 2012 silver-medalist was the only competitor to complete all three lifts, comfortably securing him the bronze medal.
All attention, rightly, will be now on the Jordanian’s record powerlifting haul. El Shebli closed out what has been a remarkable campaign for the Jordan powerlifters. His gold is added to Abdelkareem Khattab’s record-breaking win in the men’s -88kg final and Omar Qarada’s gold in the men’s -49kg class last Thursday.
Up until this games, Jordan had only won a single Paralympic gold medal, which was in table tennis in Sydney 2000. In the confines of the Tokyo International Forum, Jordan’s powerlifters have quadrupled the kingdom’s all-time gold medal tally, placing them firmly on the map as a dominant force in strength sports.
It Was Just an Accident
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
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EA Sports FC 25
Developer: EA Vancouver, EA Romania
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
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• Landfill gas is composed of 50 per cent methane
• Methane is 28 times more harmful than Co2 in terms of global warming
• 11 million total tonnes of waste are being generated annually in Abu Dhabi
• 18,000 tonnes per year of hazardous and medical waste is produced in Abu Dhabi emirate per year
• 20,000 litres of cooking oil produced in Abu Dhabi’s cafeterias and restaurants every day is thrown away
• 50 per cent of Abu Dhabi’s waste is from construction and demolition
Building boom turning to bust as Turkey's economy slows
Deep in a provincial region of northwestern Turkey, it looks like a mirage - hundreds of luxury houses built in neat rows, their pointed towers somewhere between French chateau and Disney castle.
Meant to provide luxurious accommodations for foreign buyers, the houses are however standing empty in what is anything but a fairytale for their investors.
The ambitious development has been hit by regional turmoil as well as the slump in the Turkish construction industry - a key sector - as the country's economy heads towards what could be a hard landing in an intensifying downturn.
After a long period of solid growth, Turkey's economy contracted 1.1 per cent in the third quarter, and many economists expect it will enter into recession this year.
The country has been hit by high inflation and a currency crisis in August. The lira lost 28 per cent of its value against the dollar in 2018 and markets are still unconvinced by the readiness of the government under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to tackle underlying economic issues.
The villas close to the town centre of Mudurnu in the Bolu region are intended to resemble European architecture and are part of the Sarot Group's Burj Al Babas project.
But the development of 732 villas and a shopping centre - which began in 2014 - is now in limbo as Sarot Group has sought bankruptcy protection.
It is one of hundreds of Turkish companies that have done so as they seek cover from creditors and to restructure their debts.
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
Day 1, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Dimuth Karunaratne had batted with plenty of pluck, and no little skill, in getting to within seven runs of a first-day century. Then, while he ran what he thought was a comfortable single to mid-on, his batting partner Dinesh Chandimal opted to stay at home. The opener was run out by the length of the pitch.
Stat of the day - 1 One six was hit on Day 1. The boundary was only breached 18 times in total over the course of the 90 overs. When it did arrive, the lone six was a thing of beauty, as Niroshan Dickwella effortlessly clipped Mohammed Amir over the square-leg boundary.
The verdict Three wickets down at lunch, on a featherbed wicket having won the toss, and Sri Lanka’s fragile confidence must have been waning. Then Karunaratne and Chandimal's alliance of precisely 100 gave them a foothold in the match. Dickwella’s free-spirited strokeplay meant the Sri Lankans were handily placed at 227 for four at the close.
