 |
Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 9 -15 November 2000 Issue No.507 
| ||
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
| ||
|
Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 9 -15 November 2000 Issue No.507
| ||
| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
| ||
Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Books Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters As easy as ABC
By Basem SadekEgypt's disabled athletes just don't know when to quit. Having made a strong impact at the Paralympics in Sydney, they gave another grand performance, this time in Morocco, host of almost 2,000 athletes from 15 countries in the Arab Mentally Disabled Olympics. Egypt, winner of the first two such Olympics held in Cairo, remained supreme, collecting 47 medals and a first-place finish. Morocco took second in the four-day event, with 38 medals followed by third-place finishers Saudi Arabia which bagged 30.
According to the rules, the athletes were ranked by age and disability categories A, B and C, the latter being the severest forms of mental disability. Egypt's 28 male and female players had a say in just about every category in the four sports the championship was comprised of. The women's basketball team snatched the gold after winning all its games and beating Morocco in the final 13-0. They took silver in five-a-side football after beating Morocco 3-1 and drawing 0-0 with eventual champions Saudi Arabia.
In table tennis, Egypt's Ahmed Abdel-Hadi took the gold in singles. Saudi Arabia's Abdel-Hadi Al-Khatib was second and Egypt's Mahmoud Bahaa took third. In the women's event, only two Egyptians participated and thus played each other in the final, ensuring a one-two finish. Laila Nasreddin won the gold, beating teammate Rania Abdel-Rahman. In the men's doubles, Egypt beat Morocco 2-1.
Under the tutelage of coaches Khalifa Ahmed and Amal Abul-Fotouh, track and field was the source of pride and the most medals for the Egyptians. Bahaa Mosallam won the gold in the long jump; Hussein El-Samri followed in his footsteps in level B. Hassan Sabri won the gold in the 100m while Bahaa Mosallam took the silver. Gad Karam won a bronze in the 800m.
Doaa Ali ran for the gold in the 100m, Nashwa Farouk took silver in same event followed by Safaa Mustafa.
In the 200m, Gad Karam was as good as gold; Hussein El-Samri bagged silver. In the same event for women, Safaa Mustafa was first and Doaa Ali third. In women's long jump, Egypt swept the first three places. In the 4x100m men's relay, a silver awaited the team while both Hussein El-Samri and Nashwa Farouk grabbed silver as well in the men's and women's shotput.
On the sidelines, Egyptians gave a workshop on coaching and refereeing, especially when dealing with mentally disabled athletes. "We want them to feel that the coach and the referee are like family," said Ayman Abdel-Wahab, general manager of the Egyptian Special Olympics for the mentally disabled. "We want the underprivileged to be happy."
The calendar is crowded with future championships for the handicapped. The next Special Olympics will be in Lebanon in 2002. Egypt will host the first Mediterranean five-a-side football tournament next September. The first international Special Olympics is set for Alaska in March.
© Copyright Al-Ahram Weekly. All rights reserved
