Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games - Athletics - Men's 1500m - T13 Final - Olympic Stadium, Tokyo, Japan - August 31, 2021. Rouay Jebabli of Tunisia reacts after winning silver REUTERS / Athit Perawongmetha
Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games - Athletics - Men's 1500m - T13 Final - Olympic Stadium, Tokyo, Japan - August 31, 2021. Rouay Jebabli of Tunisia reacts after winning silver REUTERS / Athit Perawongmetha
Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games - Athletics - Men's 1500m - T13 Final - Olympic Stadium, Tokyo, Japan - August 31, 2021. Rouay Jebabli of Tunisia reacts after winning silver REUTERS / Athit Perawongmetha
Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games - Athletics - Men's 1500m - T13 Final - Olympic Stadium, Tokyo, Japan - August 31, 2021. Rouay Jebabli of Tunisia reacts after winning silver REUTERS / Athit Perawongmetha

Tokyo Paralympics: Mena athletes in action on day 9


Matthew Kynaston
  • English
  • Arabic

We are now into the final stretch of the Tokyo Paralympics and Thursday will see medals awarded in eight disciplines. Below are the Mena talent to follow including several UAE athletes and medal hopefuls.

Athletics

Olympic Stadium

Guaranteed Mena medals in what promises to be a nail-biting final of the T12 400m. Brimming with confidence from his 1500m silver medal win on Tuesday, Rouay Jebabli from Tunisia will undoubtedly be wanting to add to his haul. Two Moroccans, Rio 2016 silver-medalist Mahdi Afri and world record-holder Abdeslam Hili, will be racing for gold too.

Yemen’s only female para-athlete Belqes Ahmed Taresh will be competing in the final of the women’s F56 shot-put. Algerian duo Nadia Medjmedj and Safia Djelal will certainly be among the contenders for a podium place.

In the 400m final of the men’s T13 class, all eyes will be on world-record holder and champion from Rio, Mohamed Amguoun from Morocco. He is the only athlete in the field to have run under 47 seconds. However, it’s worth keeping tabs on Algerian Skander Athman, the 100m silver medalist is the only runner to run under 48 seconds this year.

In the men’s F11 discus final, Iran’s Mahdi Olad is expected to medal and will need to produce something extra special to challenge Brazilian Alessandro da Silva. Olad’s compatriot Nourmohammad Arekhi will be hoping to make his mark on his Paralympic debut.

UAE’s Sara Al Senani is among the finalists in women's seated shot put, F33 class. Paralympic champion and record-holder Asmahane Boudjadar from Algeria will have some tough competition particularly from Fouzia El Kassioui from Morocco. Look out too for Qatar’s only female representative at the games, Sara Masoud.

Seyed Javanmardi of Iran is among one of the favourites to medal in the F35 standing shot put final. Look out too for Ali Pirouj, also from Iran taking part in the final of the F13 standing javelin final shortly after.

Badminton

Yoyogi National Stadium

Egyptian Eldakrory is up against Taiyo Imai from the host nation while Israel’s Nina Gorodetzky faces Sujirat Pookkham of Thailand and then Cynthia Mathez in group play matches.

Canoe Sprint

Sea Forest Waterway

Shahla Behrouzirad of and Eslam Jahedi of Iran will be racing in their respective heats. Behrouziad in the women’s kayak single 200m KL3 class, and Jahedi in the men’s single 200m VL2 class.

Israel’s Pascale Bercovitch will be paddling for a place in the final of the women’s kayak single 200m KL2 class.

Afghan athletes Zakia Khudadadi, left, and Hossain Rasouli arrive at Haneda airport in Tokyo after a harrowing journey from Kabul to Paris, to compete in the Paralympics. AP
Afghan athletes Zakia Khudadadi, left, and Hossain Rasouli arrive at Haneda airport in Tokyo after a harrowing journey from Kabul to Paris, to compete in the Paralympics. AP

Cycling Road

Fuji International Speedway

UAE’s Ahmad Al Mansoori will be racing in the final of the men’s C1-3 road race. Look out too for Rio 2016 triathlon bronze-medalist Mohamed Lahna of Morocco.

Football 5-a-side

Aomi Urban Sports Park

Morocco have made it through to the semi-finals for the first time, where they face four-time champions Brazil.

Sitting Volleyball

Makuhari Messe

Iran’s men face Bosnia Herzegovina in the semi-finals, in a repeat of the 2016 final.

Swimming

Tokyo Aquatics Centre

Egyptians Ayaallah Tewfick and Youssef El Sayed will be swimming for a place in the final for the women’s 400m freestyle - S6 class and men’s 50m freestyle S1, respectively.

Israelis once again pushing for medals with Yuliya Gordiychuk, Ariel Malyar and Ami Dadaon all racing for final places.

Taekwondo

Makuhari Messe

Afghanistan’s first-ever female paralympian, Zakia Khudadadi will open the women’s K44 class -49kg with her match against Ziyadakhon Isakova of Uzbekistan. Morocco’s Soukaina Es-Sabbar starts her tournament against Anna Poddubskaia of the Russian Paralympic Committee.

Look out too for Mohamed El Zayat of Egypt who is taking on Alejandro Vidal Alvarez of Spain in the men’s K44 -61kg.

Wheelchair Basketball

Ariake Arena

Iran take on South Korea in the men’s 9/10 place play-off.

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Real estate tokenisation project

Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.

The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.

Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.

The specs
  • Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
  • Power: 640hp
  • Torque: 760nm
  • On sale: 2026
  • Price: Not announced yet
Results

Stage three:

1. Stefan Bissegger (SUI) EF Education-EasyPost, in 9-43

2. Filippo Ganna (ITA) Ineos Grenadiers, at 7s

3. Tom Dumoulin (NED) Jumbo-Visma, at 14s

4. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE-Team Emirates, at 18s

5. Joao Almeida (POR) UAE-Team Emirates, at 22s

6. Mikkel Bjerg (DEN) UAE-Team Emirates, at 24s

General Classification:

1. Stefan Bissegger (SUI) EF Education-EasyPost, in 9-13-02

2. Filippo Ganna (ITA) Ineos Grenadiers, at 7s

3. Jasper Philipsen (BEL) Alpecin Fenix, at 12s

4. Tom Dumoulin (NED) Jumbo-Visma, at 14s

5. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE-Team Emirates, at 18s

6. Joao Almeida (POR) UAE-Team Emirates, at 22s

Who's who in Yemen conflict

Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government

Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council

Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south

Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory

All or Nothing

Amazon Prime

Four stars

War

Director: Siddharth Anand

Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff, Ashutosh Rana, Vaani Kapoor

Rating: Two out of five stars 

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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Nitesh%20Tiwari%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Varun%20Dhawan%2C%20Janhvi%20Kapoor%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%201%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
BULKWHIZ PROFILE

Date started: February 2017

Founders: Amira Rashad (CEO), Yusuf Saber (CTO), Mahmoud Sayedahmed (adviser), Reda Bouraoui (adviser)

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: E-commerce 

Size: 50 employees

Funding: approximately $6m

Investors: Beco Capital, Enabling Future and Wain in the UAE; China's MSA Capital; 500 Startups; Faith Capital and Savour Ventures in Kuwait

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ABU DHABI CARD

5pm: UAE Martyrs Cup (TB) Conditions; Dh90,000; 2,200m
5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup (PA) Handicap; Dh70,000; 1,400m​​​​​​​
6pm: UAE Matyrs Trophy (PA) Maiden; Dh80,000; 1,600m​​​​​​​
6.30pm: Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak (IFAHR) Apprentice Championship (PA) Prestige; Dh100,000; 1,600m​​​​​​​
7pm: Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak (IFAHR) Ladies World Championship (PA) Prestige; Dh125,000; 1,600m​​​​​​​
8pm: Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Jewel Crown (PA) Group 1; Dh5,000,000; 1,600m

India Test squad

Virat Kohli (c), Mayank Agarwal, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wk), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Shubman Gill

Ferrari 12Cilindri specs

Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12

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APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)

Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits

Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine

Storage: 128/256/512GB

Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4

Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps

Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID

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In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter

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The specs

Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cyl turbo

Power: 194hp at 5,600rpm

Torque: 275Nm from 2,000-4,000rpm

Transmission: 6-speed auto

Price: from Dh155,000

On sale: now

'I Want You Back'

Director:Jason Orley

Stars:Jenny Slate, Charlie Day

Rating:4/5

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Kanye%20West
%3Cp%3EYe%20%E2%80%94%20the%20rapper%20formerly%20known%20as%20Kanye%20West%20%E2%80%94%20has%20seen%20his%20net%20worth%20fall%20to%20%24400%20million%20in%20recent%20weeks.%20That%E2%80%99s%20a%20precipitous%20drop%20from%20Bloomberg%E2%80%99s%20estimates%20of%20%246.8%20billion%20at%20the%20end%20of%202021.%3Cbr%3EYe%E2%80%99s%20wealth%20plunged%20after%20business%20partners%2C%20including%20Adidas%2C%20severed%20ties%20with%20him%20on%20the%20back%20of%20anti-Semitic%20remarks%20earlier%20this%20year.%3Cbr%3EWest%E2%80%99s%20present%20net%20worth%20derives%20from%20cash%2C%20his%20music%2C%20real%20estate%20and%20a%20stake%20in%20former%20wife%20Kim%20Kardashian%E2%80%99s%20shapewear%20firm%2C%20Skims.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners

Monster Hunter: World

Capcom

PlayStation 4, Xbox One

Charlotte Gainsbourg

Rest

(Because Music)

SPECS
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Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EHakbah%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2018%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENaif%20AbuSaida%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESaudi%20Arabia%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E22%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%24200%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Epre-Series%20A%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EGlobal%20Ventures%20and%20Aditum%20Investment%20Management%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Global state-owned investor ranking by size

1.

United States

2.

China

3.

UAE

4.

Japan

5

Norway

6.

Canada

7.

Singapore

8.

Australia

9.

Saudi Arabia

10.

South Korea

Updated: September 02, 2021, 2:00 AM