Saudi Arabia will send its largest delegation to date to the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games. Taking place from August 28th until September 8th, nine Saudi athletes will compete in athletics, weightlifting, taekwondo, table tennis, and dressage.
Saudi Arabia made its Paralympic Games début at the 1996 Summer Paralympics in Atlanta, with two competitors in powerlifting. The country has participated in every subsequent edition of the Summer Paralympics,
Wheelchair racer Abdulrahman Al-Qurashi and table tennis player Ghalia Al-Anzi carried the Saudi flag at the opening ceremony on Wednesday.
Saudi Arabia is represented in Paris by Abdulrahman Al-Qurashi (100m) and (400m), Hassan Doshi (long jump), Noor Al-Sanaa (100m), Sarah Al-Juma (shot put), and Ali Al-Nakhli in the 100m and 200m races, Adnan Saeed in weightlifting, Ayad Al-Treik in taekwondo, Ghalia Al-Anzi in table tennis, and the horse rider Ahmed Al-Sharbatli in dressage.
The Saudi Gazette writes:
“It is noteworthy that the Kingdom participated for the first time in the Paralympic Games in the Atlanta Games in 1996 with 2 players, then with 4 players in Sydney 2000 and 7 players in Athens 2004. In Beijing, despite the participation of only 3 players, player Osama Al-Shanqeeti won a gold medal in the triple jump and a silver medal in the high jump.
With the participation of 4 players in London 2012, player Hani Al-Nakhli won a silver medal in the discus throw, and the same player won a bronze medal in the shot put at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016, which witnessed the participation of 3 Saudi players, and then participation with a larger number in Tokyo 2020 with 7 Saudi players and Abdulrahman Al-Qurashi won a bronze medal in the 100m wheelchair in athletics.”
This year, a record number of delegations and females are competing at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games with around 4,400 athletes from a record 168 delegations. The delegations include 167 National Paralympic Committees (NPCs), an eight-strong Refugee Paralympic Team (RPT), and up to 96 Neutral Paralympic Athletes (NPA) (88 from Russia and 8 from Belarus).
Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, president of the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee, noted that this is the first time Saudi Arabia has had participants in all five Paralympic sports. “Sports for people with disabilities receive special attention in the Kingdom, and in this regard, I extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to King Salman and the Crown Prince for their generous and unlimited support to bring the sports sector in the Kingdom to what it has reached,” he said.
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