Kuwait's Paralympic table tennis player Yaqoub Al-Khalifa poses with his medal.

By Abdellatif Sharaa

KUWAIT: Kuwait's Paralympic table tennis player Yaqoub Al-Khalifa won third place in the men's singles competition of the Costa Brava Spanish Para Open 2021. Khalifa's win came following fierce competition with the participants from professional European teams, including Spain, France, UK and Russia.

Chairman of Kuwait's Paralympic Committee of Table Tennis, head of the Kuwaiti delegation to the tournament Duaij Al-Hajiri lauded Khalifa's achievement in the single's competition. He said the win came following very strong competition in the preliminaries and finals "against the best players from around the world." He noted that the draw had placed Khalifa in a difficult group "but he was able to advance all the way to the semifinals."

Meanwhile, Hajiri said that juniors Mohammad Al-Rashidi and Fahad Al-Otaibi had a positive participation, noting that they gave "an outstanding performance". The two will participate in the under 23 West Asia Tournament in Bahrain in November, he noted, expressing confidence in the team's ability to make the best achievements "under the unlimited support of the Paralympic Committee and its Chairman Nasser Al-Jandal, as well as the Public Authority for Sports and its Director General Dr Humoud Fulaiteh and his deputy Dr Saqer Al-Mulla."