Picture used for illustrative purpose only.

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

The Asian Paralympic Committee (APC) has announced that the fourth Asian Youth Para Games will take place in Bahrain from Dec.11-10, 2021.

The event is being organised in conjunction with the National Paralympic Committee (NPC) of Bahrain with the support of the local government.

An estimated 800 athletes under 20 years of age are expected to compete in nine sports; Athletics, Badminton, Boccia, Goalball, Para Taekwondo, Powerlifting, Swimming, Table Tennis and Wheelchair Basketball. The competition will take place across numerous venues in Khalifa Sports City, a multi-use stadium in Isa Town, and Isa Sports City, the national indoor sports facility.

APC President Majid Rashed commented: "The APC’s new vision is to ‘Make for an inclusive Asia through Para-sport’ and I can think of no better place to start achieving that than with the region’s youth.

"We’re delighted that the NPC of Bahrain has put together such a strong bid to host the next Asian Youth Para Games and we offer our thanks to them and their government for supporting the next generation of Asian para-athletes.

"Providing opportunities for young para-athletes to compete in a multi-sport environment will hopefully inspire them to continue on their sporting journey which may lead ultimately to the Paralympic Games.”

This will be the first time that the Bahrain has hosted such a large scale para-sport event and the NPC is determined to use the games as a platform to develop the Paralympic movement in the country.

Chairman of the Bahrain Paralympic Committee, Sheikh Mohammed bin Duaij Al Khalifa stated: "We are proud and honored to have won the bid to host the 2021 Asian Youth Para Games in the Kingdom of Bahrain. This is a testament to our mission of providing the infrastructure for people with impairments to continue integrating them into society, nurture their abilities, and position our nation at the forefront of the Paralympic Movement.”