Arshad, Sarah to carry Qatar’s flag at the opening ceremony

Ali Arshad and Sarah Masoud will carry Qatar’s flag at the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games, which kicks off on Wednesday in Paris and will continue until September 8. The Qatari delegation, headed by Dr Hassan al-Ansari, Secretary-General of the Qatar Federation for People with Special Needs, recently arrived in Paris to undergo the final stage of preparations before the start of the competitions.The delegation includes Arshad and his coach Nabil al-Muslimani, Sarah and her coach Walid Magmoul, along with physical therapist Anis Bougumoura and Mohamed Suhail, the federation’s technical expert.Arshad will compete in the 100m and 800m wheelchair races, while Sarah will compete in the women’s shot put.Arshad’s competitions will begin on September 1 with the 100m heats, while Masoud will start her shot put competition on September 5.Sarah is an accomplished athlete, having won a silver medal in shot put at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, silver at the 2017 World Athletics Championships in London, and multiple medals at the Asian Paralympic Games in Incheon 2014 and Jakarta 2018. Her recent achievements include silver medals in shot put and discus throw, and a bronze in javelin throw at the Bahrain 2022 West Asian Paralympic Games, followed by similar successes at the Sharjah 2024 West Asian Games.Arshad has a strong track record too, including winning a bronze in the 100m wheelchair race at the Asian Games in Hangzhou 2022, fourth place in the 400m wheelchair race, and seventh in the 100m at the World Para Athletics Championships in Kobe, Japan. He also won silver in the 100m, and bronze in both the 200m and 400m wheelchair races at the West Asian Paralympic Games in Bahrain, followed by silver in the 800m and 400m, and bronze in the 100m at the Sharjah 2024 West Asian Games.Dr al-Ansari, head of the Qatari delegation, emphasised that the primary goal of Qatar’s participation is to elevate the Qatari flag on the podiums, given the recent successes of Qatari athletes in the Paralympic Games and World Championships.The 17th edition of the Paralympic Games will see the participation of 4,400 athletes. A total of 18 of the 35 Olympic venues will be used for the Paralympics, which run until September 8, including the Grand Palais which scored rave reviews for its hosting of the fencing and taekwondo under an ornate roof.The Paris Paralympic Games will feature competitions in 22 sports, including archery, athletics, badminton, goalball, boccia, canoeing, cycling, equestrian events, judo, weightlifting, rowing, shooting, volleyball, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, triathlon, basketball, fencing, rugby and tennis.China topped the overall medal table at the last Paralympic Games in Tokyo, winning a total of 207 medals (96 gold, 60 silver, and 51 bronze), followed by Great Britain in second place with 124 medals (41 gold, 38 silver, 45 bronze).The United States ranked third with 104 medals (37 gold, 36 silver, 31 bronze), while the Russian Paralympic Committee team ranked fourth (in terms of gold medals) with 118 medals (36 gold, 33 silver, 49 bronze). The Netherlands took fifth place with 59 medals (25 gold, 17 silver, 17 bronze), and Ukraine was in sixth place with 98 medals (24 gold, 47 silver, 27 bronze).