A grand closing ceremony celebrating the participation of the Special Athletes brought the curtain down on the IX MENA Special Olympic Games in Abu Dhabi last week. Badminton was indeed one of the brightest stars in the galaxy of sports showcased at the games.
Fifty “special athletes” representing fourteen countries competed over 5 days leaving us with indelible memories we will all carry for a long, long time. Whether it was Bahrain’s victorious Taha Khamis and Mohamed Ebrahim rushing to hug and console a weeping Said Bait Said and Aiman Bait Maqas, their losing opponents from Oman, or crowd pleaser Malik Najm from Iraq doing his jig at each point won or lost, it was a triumph for the human spirit that finally prevailed.
From Egypt’s Sondos Adel deliberately keeping the shuttle in play just so her weaker opponents from Palestine could participate in a rally, to players’ coming to the net point after point to hand over the shuttle to their opponents, there was no lack of sportsmanship on display. These special athletes truly valued “participation" over “winning”. The athletes’ coaching and support staff must also be commended for the way they shepherded their players with love and patience, reinforcing “meaningful inclusion” as one of the main tenets of the Special Olympics.
Overseeing the matches with professionalism and clockwork accuracy was the Technical Officials team of the UAE Table Tennis and Badminton Association, ably guided by Jaffer Ebrahim and Mathew Varghese. This dedicated group of volunteers were commended by the organizers as being the best technical official team across all the sports represented at the games.
Players competed hard but always with a smile and always with respect and concern for their opponents. As we look back on the 5-days of competition, we can say without a doubt that it was badminton that came out the true winner!! All badminton lovers in the UAE can hold their heads and their rackets high as we salute the special athletes of the IX MENA Games.