Dubai: The UAE’s Paralympic squad is confident of doing well at the third Asian Youth Para Games (AYPG), to be hosted in Dubai from December 8 to 14. More than 700 athletes from 30 countries are expected to participate in the competition that is to be held across various venues in Dubai.
Held under the auspices of the Asian Paralympic Committee (APC) with sponsorship from Dubai Health Authority, Emirates Gas, RTA, Alia Al Qamar and partnership from Dubai Sports Council (DSC), General Authority of Youth and Sports Welfare (GAYSW) and UAE Paralympic Committee, the organisers are expecting a huge response from participating nations.
The inaugural edition of this competition was held in Tokyo in 2009 and the second one was held in Kuala Lumpur in 2013. “This is our future,” Thani Juma Berregad, Championship Director of AYPG and Chairman of the Dubai Club for People with Determination (DCPD) told Gulf News.
“We are expecting at least a 50 per cent in the number of medals from our youth athletes. They have been working hard since the past few months and the results will be seen this week. The results will be an indicator that we are on course with our development programme for the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games,” he added.
The UAE squad for the AYPG is made up of 31 athletes, of which 26 are boys and the remaining five are girls. The biggest squad will be from Iran who are arriving with 116 athletes followed by Japan with 89 athletes and Thailand with 80. “Once again Dubai will show the way with a technically sound competition,” Berregad observed.
The table tennis, goalball, athletics and powerlifting will be held at the Dubai Club for People of Determination (DCPD), badminton will be at Al Wasl Club, Boccia at Shabab Al Ahli Dubai Club and Swimming at the Hamdan Sports Complex.
Teams will start arriving on December 8 while the opening ceremony has been scheduled for December 10 after which the various competitions will kick off.
