UAE’s Hammadi secures silver, his second at Tokyo Paralympics  

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter
 
After winning bronze on Monday, Mohamed Al Hammadi clinched his second medal of the Tokyo Paralympics in the T34 wheelchair 800-metres competition on Saturday.

UAE ace Hammadi narrowly lost the gold to Tunisia's Walid Ktila in a thrilling final at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo.

Unstoppable Ktila, who won gold medals at London 2012 and Rio 2016 Games, bagged his second yellow medal of the Tokyo Paralympics with a time of one minute 45.50 seconds, just 0.09 ahead of Hammadi.

China’s Yang Wang sealed the bronze with a season best time of 1:45.68.

“We have been racing against each other for a very long time. I win some and he wins some. This time it was his day,” said Hammadi, who won a silver and a bronze at London 2012 in the 200m and 100m T34 respectively.

The UAE’s tally rose to three medals in Tokyo with shooter Abdulla Sultan Al Aryani’s gold in the 50m Rifle 3 Positions SH1 on Friday.

Sheikh Nahyan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, congratulated the wise leadership and the people of the UAE on the achievement of the shooter Aryani.

He also hailed Hammadi on winning silver.

"We are proud of the exceptional achievements of our champions at Tokyo Olympics, and we congratulate them on their successes and assure them that the wise leadership is keen to offer all the support to continue their brilliance in various international forums and support the UAE sport with more achievements,” said Sheikh Nahyan.

Ktila dedicates gold medal to mother

Meanwhile, Ktila dedicated his victory to his mother Sadiha, who has stood beside him through thick and thin.

“She has been the person behind my success. She raised me as a normal child and always made me believe I can achieve anything. That support has taken me places and I would like to tell everyone that all we need is support.
 
“If you can give that to your child, then he or she can do wonders,” said Ktila, who also acknowledged the role played by the Tunisian government in the development of Para sport.
 
“Lots have changed. I wouldn’t say that we are way ahead but there is a good level of support. So more can be done. Hopefully, these medals from our athletes will trigger a wider movement. If we can do that, then I will consider this medal a huge success.”