Arshad qualifies for final at Paris Paralympic Games

Qatar’s Ali Arshad entered the final of the 100m wheelchair race (T34 category) at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games on Sunday. At the packed Stade de France, Arshad finished third in the second heat with a personal best time of 15.20 seconds, finishing behind Thailand’s Chaiwat Rattana (14.81 secs) and Tunisia’s Walid Ktila (15.09).
Arshad will compete in the final at 12 noon today, hoping to win his first Paralympic medal, following in the footsteps of other Qatar stars who have previously achieved this, including his teammate in Paris, Sara Masoud, who won a silver medal in the shot put at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, and Abdulrahman al-Qader, who won silver in the shot put at Rio 2016 and bronze at Tokyo 2020 in the same event. Arshad expressed his happiness at qualifying for final in his maiden Paralympic Games, while also affirming his confidence in his ability to win a medal, especially after recording his personal best and achieving the third-best time in the preliminary round.
Dr Hassan al-Ansari, Secretary-General of the Qatar Paralympic Committee and head of the Qatari delegation, congratulated Arshad on reaching the final and wished him all the best in the final.
Dr al-Ansari emphasised that Arshad not only qualified for the final but also achieved a personal best and the third-best time in the first round, which indicates his strong chance of winning a medal today. These results reflect the significant efforts made by the coaching staff of Qatar during the preparation periods for the Paralympics and their commitment to getting the athletes ready to the highest level possible.
Meanwhile, Sara is continuing her preparations to compete in the shot put competition (T33 category), which will take place on Thursday evening at Stade de France. Sara has had a distinguished career filled with achievements, having won the silver medal in shot put at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games and the silver medal at the 2017 World Para Athletics Championships held in London.
She also secured gold medals in shot put and discus throw at the 2014 Incheon Asian Para Games, a silver medal in shot put at the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games, and silver medals in discus throw and javelin throw, as well as a bronze medal in shot put at the 2022 West Asian Para Games in Bahrain. Additionally, she won silver medals in discus throw and shot put and a bronze in javelin throw at the 2024 West Asian Para Games in Sharjah.