Hosts UAE put on impressive show winning a total of 20 medals DUBAI, 13th March: Iran dominated the podium with a rich haul of 40 medals in the first ever IPC Athletics Asia-Oceania Championships Dubai 2016 which came to a successful conclusion on Saturday 12th March at Dubai Police Officers Club in Jadaf. Iran topped the final medals table with a total of 23 gold, 10 silver and 7 bronze. China finished second with 16 gold, 9 silver and 5 bronze. India (12-10-9) were third and Japan (8-6-11) finished in fourth place. Hosts UAE took the fifth spot by securing a total of 20 medals including six gold, nine silver and five bronze medals in the inaugural IPC Athletics Asia-Oceania Championship held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Sports Council (DSC). The IPC Athletics Asia-Oceania Championships was organized and supervised by the Dubai Club for the Disabled with the support of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), the General Authority for Youth and Sports Welfare, the DSC and the UAE Paralympic Committee. The Official Sponsors of this Championship were as follows: Hamdan Bin Mohamed Heritage Center (HHC), Al Maktoum Foundation, Sheikha Maitha Centre for People with Special Needs, Dubai Health Authority (DHA), Falcon City, Dubai Municipality, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), Awqaf and Minors Affairs Foundation, BMW and Dubai Investments. Dubai Sports TV is the media partner. DSC secretary general Saeed Hareb lauded the organization of the Championships and saluted the heroic efforts of the UAE athletes for bringing glory to the nation. “I’m proud about what I saw today. Everything was perfect from the organizational side which was carried out in a professional manner. The number of medals won by UAE showed these athletes have lot of will power to face any challenge. They haved proved that they are producing more results than what normal athletes get in the international arena. We should be fully supportive for this group of people because they deserve it because they give you back as much as you give them support with great performances. I’m happy with what I saw today,” said Hareb who was on hand to witness the thrilling men’s 400m T54 final featuring the youngest competitor in the Championship 17-year-old Salem Al Shehhi of the UAE. Having bagged gold in the 100m and 200m, Salem who has qualified for the Rio Paralympics in the sprint, was on course to complete a hat-trick but for a strong finish by Japan’s Yuki Nishi. Salem was the early leader but the 22-year-old Japanese powered home in the final 50 metres clocking a winning time 51.27 to edge the plucky Emirati. UAE produced the individual star of the Championships as world silver medallist Mohamed Hammadi was the only athlete to bag four gold medals in the Championships in men's 100m, 200m, ,400m and 800m T34 categories to boost his preparations for the Rio Games. Ahmad Ojaghlou stole the limelight on the sixth and final day of the competition in Dubai by completing a treble with victory in the 400m T47. The 28-year-old (50.09) held off a strong challenge from India’s Sandeep Singh (50.67) to add another gold to his 100m and 200m T47 wins. “I am so happy I won three gold medals, I have the best times ever,” said Ojaghlou delighted that his hard work has produced results for himself and for country. Arash Khosravi notched up his second gold in Dubai with a spectacular finish in the men’s 200m T11. “I really want to break the Asian record so I can go to Brazil. Like any person I love my country and it is important for me to put the flag of my own country higher and higher,” said the 22-year-old clocked a winning time of 24.64 pulling clear of Indonesia’s Abdul Halim Dalimunte with less than 10 metres to go. Iran’s insatiable appetite for success was seen in the final event of the day when Ali Elahi won the men’s 1,500m T13 final after his Indian rival Ramkaran Singh was disqualified. Singh had won the 5000m title earlier by setting an Asian record but his joy of a golden double was shortlived after Elahi howled in protest that he was impeded by the Indian. Elahi was subsequently adjudged the winner in a time of 4:20.36. Iran’s Alireza Hemami Mokhtari (F53) won the men’s discus throw F51-53 with a best of 22.71m (843 points) to upset India’s discus throw F51 Asian record holder Amit Kumar. “I think my performance is okay. I have not performed very well but every player has ups and downs,” said Kumar who has qualified for Rio in club throw. India also excelled in the field as Varun Singh Bhati (T42) set a new Asian record in the high jump T42-47, clearing 1.82m (996 points), bringing the grand total of new marks to 16 in the Championship. His compatriot Arvind (F37) clinched gold in the men’s discus throw F37/38, with a final throw of 45.34m (840 points). Mahdi Asghari (T42) made it a total of 16 golds out in the field for Iran over the six days of competition as he won the shot put F42/44 with 11.60m (642 points). China won three gold medals on the final day through reigning Paralympic champion and world record holder Pengkai Zhu (F12)whose throw of 57.69m (898 points) secured him the men’s javelin F11-13 title. Juntingxian Jia (T11) and Daqing Zhu (T12) also added to China’s medal tally, winning the women’s 200m T11 (26.18) and 200m T12 (26.19) respectively. Kuwait’s Hamad Aladwani completed a golden treble on the track with an emphatic win in the men’s 400m T53 powering home in 54.28. Sri Lanka’s golden girl Amara Indumathi Lallwala Palliyagurunnanselage clinched a double with an impressive victory in the women’s 200m T44/47 in 27.89, while India’s Anvil Kumar struck gold victory in the men’s 400m T13 clocking 53.98. “I’m happy to come to Dubai and to win two gold medals in the first Asia-Oceania Championship. It is a big achievement in my life. I was confident of winning after the training and guidance I received from my coach,” said the 30-year old who has qualified to Rio after winning the 400m T47 in Dubai....
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Iran leads medal table with 18 gold medals on record-breaking fifth day DUBAI, 12th March: UAE star Mohamed Hammadi became the first athlete to win four gold medals on a record-breaking fifth day of the inaugural IPC Athletics Asia-Oceania Championships Dubai 2016 on Friday 11th March. Hammadi showed his pedigree with a spectacular win in the 100m T34 final to cement his status as a contender for the title in the Rio Paralympics. Hammadi already won the 200m, 400m and 800m T34 titles in Dubai this week. “I am happy to get four medals. This is good preparation for me for the road to Rio,” said the 30-year-old world silver medallist who believes training is more important than competition in the build-up to the Paralympic Games. “I have two events in Rio - 100 and 800. The first 10 or 15 metres of 100 is most important and in the 800 learning to pace yourself during two laps is key. I was able to check how things are going for me technically but my focus is on training,” said Hammadi who is looking forward to competitions in Sharjah and Fazza Championships with the ultimate aim of bringing glory to UAE in Brazil. The inaugural IPC Athletics Asia-Oceania Championship is being held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Sports Council (DSC). The IPC Athletics Asia-Oceania Championships is organized and supervised by the Dubai Club for the Disabled with the support of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), the General Authority for Youth and Sports Welfare, the DSC and the UAE Paralympic Committee. The Official Sponsors of this Championship are as follows: Hamdan Bin Mohamed Heritage Center (HHC), Al Maktoum Foundation, Sheikha Maitha Centre for People with Special Needs, Dubai Health Authority (DHA), Falcon City, Dubai Municipality, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), Awqaf and Minors Affairs Foundation, BMW and Dubai Investments. Dubai Sports TV is the media partner. “We are proud to sponsor this type of Championships and to specially support this group of people. Dubai Health Authority (DHA) is committed to take care of these people, to help them and to integrate them into society. Already we have this kind of people working with us. We have provided them jobs and they are really professional. We are also proud to see UAE athletes getting many medals and also first ranking in this Championships,” said Ghanim Abdulla Rashid Lootah, Director Department of Institutional Marketing and Communications, DHA. The road to Rio also began in Dubai for Siham Al Rasheedy who was elated after qualifying to the Paralympic Games in the women’s Discus with a best of 24.67m (708 points) at the Dubai Police Officer’s Club stadium in Jadaf. It was an effort which fetched her only a silver medal although she threw further than Iran’s Hashemiyeh Motaghian Moavi (F56) whose throw of (20.83m) 890 points improved her Asian record set in Qatar last year and won the gold medal in the women’s Discus F54-57 in this Championships. “Today they mixed 54 to 57. She (Siham) lost the gold medal by points not by performance. She is the best I’m sure. She will be the best in all of Asia one day,” said the UAE athlete’s Tunisian coach Fatma praising the commitment of Siham. “She worked hard by training in camp for 45 days. She was seriously making good preparation training two times a day. She didn’t even take care of her son to concentrate on training this competition because she wanted to get a good result and qualification for Rio. Alhamdulillah (thanks to God) finally she did all of that today,” said Fatma. A silver medallist in the Asian Para Games in Guangzhou, Siham, 33, is now determined to raise UAE’s flag in Brazil. “My target is to be the best in the world one day and will work hard to give a good performance in the Paralympic Games,” said Siham who has been infected by polio since she was six months old but doesn’t consider it a physical handicap. UAE’s Noura Al Ketbi was one eight athletes to set new Asian records adding nearly one metre to her previous best with a throw of 4.39m (436 points) in the women’s shot put F32-34. Qatari Sara Hamdi Masoud (F33) also smashed the Asian record with a throw of 4.75 (613 points) to clinch gold while UAE’s Sara Al Senani (F33) took silver with a throw of 4.42 (506 points). Iran produced five winners to extend their lead at the top of the medals table to 34, including 18 gold medals, ahead of China who have won 13 gold medals. Hamed Amiri (F54) completed a hat trick of gold medals in Dubai winning the shot put F53 with a new Asian record 9.69m (940 points). Iran also struck gold through Ramezanali Doolabi won the shot put F46 (13.14m), Mohammad Alvanpour in the men’s javelin throw F55/56 (36.86m) and Amin Abdolpour (F46) in the 1,500m T37/38/46. China’s Liangmin Zhang (F11) won her second gold of the week with victory in the shot put F11/12 with a throw of 10.08m (835 points). Malaysia’s Nasharuddin Mohd clocked a new Asian record time of 50.30 in the men’s 400m T20. Asian records were also broken by China’s Juntingxian Jia (4.82) in the women’s long jump T11, Iran’s Alireza Mokhtari Hemami in men's shot put F53 (7.61) and Thailand’s Surasak Damchoom in men's 1500m T38 (4:58.46). Sri Lankan Anil Prasanna Jayalath beat Japan’s Atsushi Yamamoto for the second time in Dubai to clinch a golden double. The 30-year-old won the men’s 100m T42 to add to his 200m title and declared he was to improve his winning time of 12.62 as he prepares to go for gold at this year’s Paralympic Games. “Getting a good time was important for me today than just winning the 100m. I want to improve my time even more before the Games so I can really do something there,” said Jayalath confidently. “I was in the outside lane today so wasn’t able to fully show my skill – I could have gone even faster. I lost to Yamamoto in the 100m at Incheon 2014 but I am not worried about this rivalry now. I am looking at the rest of the world and want to beat Scott Reardon, the Australian world champion,” he said. There was more joy for Sri Lanka as Ajith Hettiarachchi won their fifth gold medal, winning the 100m T44 in 12.30 on his international debut. India picked up two gold medals in the field as Jaideep Jaideep won the men’s discus F42 with 37.75m and Santhamuthuvel Kesavan took the discus F44 title with a best of 38.13m. Athletes compete in distances from 100m, 200m, 400, 800m, 1,500m, 5,000m, 4x100m and 4x400m relay events on the track, and field events of shot put, discus, javelin, club throw, long jump, high jump and triple jump. The track and field events are held in accordance with the rules and regulations of IPC Athletics....
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