Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed hails UAE's Paralympics team

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed has hailed the UAE's medal-winners of the Tokyo Paralympics.

The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces said the entire Emirati squad had made the nation proud.

He praised the achievements of shooting star Abdulla Sultan Al Aryani - who won the UAE's first gold of the competition in the 50 metre Rifle 3P competition - and Mohamed Al Hammadi, who secured the country's first medal of the Games after earning bronze in the 100 metre T34 wheelchair at the Olympic Stadium.

Al Hammadi enjoyed double success after taking silver in the T34 wheelchair 800-metres event.

The 2020 Paralympics - which like the Olympics was delayed by a year because of the Covid-19 pandemic - drew to a spectacular close on Sunday after nearly two weeks of action.

Sheikh Mohamed praised Japan for hosting the Games successfully.

"Congratulations to Abdulla Sultan Al Aryani, Mohamed Al Hammadi and the entire UAE Paralympics team on their remarkable achievements in Tokyo," Sheikh Mohamed said on Twitter.

"You have made our country proud. I also commend Japan for its successful hosting of the Games."

The UAE's 12-member squad returned with a gold, silver and bronze. Mohammed Fadhel Al Hameli, chairman of the UAE Paralympic Committee, who accompanied the team as chef de mission, said this was a “good achievement” given the pandemic.

“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.”