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Al-Ahram Weekly 23 - 29 September 1999 Issue No. 448 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 23 - 29 September 1999 Issue No. 448
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Comment Focus Special Features Profile Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters First place in a first-time event
By Abeer AnwarThe first official Arab Games for the disabled ended in Jordan last week with Egypt fin-shing on top with 54 medals, including 34 gold, 10 silver and 10 bronze.
With 16 countries and 700 athletes participating, Egypt's first place finish was sweet indeed. "We faced a very strong challenge from Jordan," Nabil Salem, head of the Egyptian Disabled Federation and a member of the International Federation for the Disabled, said. Despite the hosts, Egypt landed the title with a three gold medal difference. Egypt participated in six sports with 71 players, the second biggest delegation after Jordan.
In football for the deaf, Egypt, Palestine, Libya, Saudi Arabia and Jordan took part in matches that had a difference: the referee waves a flag instead of blowing a whistle. Egypt collected the bronze after losing to Saudi Arabia 2-0 and beating Libya 7-2.
In track and field, Ibrahim Badr set a new Arab record in the discus with a 40-metre throw, breaking the mark of 36 metres. Badr added a second gold in the javelin and a silver medal in the shot put. Compatriot Ibrahim Mustafa broke the record in the shot put with a heave of 14.53 metres, 25 centimetres more than the old mark. Mustafa added another bronze to his haul in the discus.
In events for the mentally ill, Ashraf Adel won the gold medal in the high jump and the silver in the 800 metres. Rashad Gamil collected the gold in the shot put and the bronze in the high jump. Mohamed Moawad pocketed a silver medal in the discus while Mustafa Abul-Yazid won the bronze in the javelin. Hussein El-Sayed threw the javelin 42.30 metres, breaking the 40.60 metre mark. Walid Abdel-Tawab won the silver in the 200 metres and a bronze in the 400. Mohamed Abul-Kheir won the gold in the discus.
In table tennis, Egypt won the gold medal in the men's doubles, beating Jordan 2-0. In the team event, the squad collected six gold medals in five classes classified according to the degree of disability. The classifications are set by the International Disabled Federation. The women's team collected silver in the TT5 classification. Ayman Abdel-Moneim and Sameh Eid added two gold in the individual TT4 and TT5 classes while Ashraf El-Tabakh collected the silver in the TT3 class. The team also won three gold medals in the individual events. One silver and one bronze medal were added in the mixed doubles. Ashraf Mustafa collected two gold medals in the TT3 standing and seating events. Ali Nasr, Khaled Kamel and Ayman Abdel-Moneim took three gold medals in their classes.
Egypt was nicknamed the "Dream Team" in wheelchair basketball and for good reason. The players routed Palestine and Lebanon 101-18 and 100-31 respectively before beating Morocco 64-46 in the final.
In weightlifting, Metwalli Ibrahim and Ahmed Gomaa collected two gold medals each in 60kg and 56kg weight categories. Ibrahim lifted 202.5kg, breaking his world mark of 200kg. As a result, Ibrahim qualifies automatically for the Sydney Paralympics. Four other gold medals went to Badreddin Mohamed, Osama Abdel-Moneim, Shaaban Yehia and El-Sayed Abdel-Aal in the 48kg, 52kg, 67.5kg and 75kg divisions. Abdel-Moneim Salah won the gold medal and posted a new world record in the 90kg category, hoisting 223.5kg. A Pole had previously held the record, 222.5kg. Sherif Abul-Fottoh added a gold in 100kg while teammate El-Sayed Mohamed collected the silver in the over 100kg.
In bell ball, a modified version of volleyball, Egypt had another first place finish, beating Jordan 12-1 in the final. En route to the gold, the team defeated Iraq 7-3, Bahrain 17-0, Qatar 4-0 and Libya 9-0.
