UAE wins gold in doubles at 1st Fazza International Boccia Competition

Dubai, 28 May 2014: The UAE won gold at the 1st Fazza International Boccia Competition as they competed against Kuwait and Iraq in the doubles event of the BC4 category. This is the first medal that the UAE has won in the tournament. 

An ecstatic Raissa Falasi, who competed in the doubles event along with Ahmed Al Jezairi said: “I am proud to represent my country at an international level competition. Boccia truly is a unique sport for people with disabilities and I would encourage more people to try their hand at it. This Championship has been a great opportunity to compete alongside professional athletes from around the world and I look forward to participating in more tournaments in the future.”

The 1st Fazza International Boccia Competition hosted 41 players from across eight countries – including the UAE, Iraq, Thailand, Malaysia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Tunisia and Portugal.

Iraq won silver in the BC4 category in the doubles event, while Kuwait won bronze in the same category in the doubles event.

Thani Juma Berregad, chairman of the Dubai Club for the Disabled and head of the organising committee for the Fazza Championships for the Disabled added: “We would like to congratulate our Boccia national team and all other participating teams for their commitment to the sport. The objective of this competition was to reach out to the most vulnerable category of people with disabilities and we have managed to achieve this successfully.

“We have seen some very competent players from the Arab world participate in this tournament and they have a very real chance to compete more aggressively at a regional and international platform.

This year, we have hosted a total of 6 international Fazza championships for the disabled, under the patronage of HH Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and we would like to thank the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Heritage Center and all volunteers for making the championships a success.

Souad Darwish, Director of Championships at Hamdan Bin Mohammed Heritage Center added: “We would like to thank everyone for their commitment and interest in the 1st Fazza International Boccia Competition held in the UAE. The Hamdan Bin Mohammed Heritage Center was very happy to work with the organisers and these championships have marked the beginning of what will be very successful games to come in the future.”

About Boccia
Boccia is a highly specialised competitive sport for people with cerebral palsy or related neurological conditions and is practiced in more than 50 countries today. The events generally comprise mixed gender and feature individual and pair competitions. The game consists of four rounds and is played on a hard surface. The objective of the sport is to aim the provided game balls at a special target ball.

Official Sponsors:
Al Tayer Motors, Emirates NBD and Global Village

Participating Countries:
Thailand, Portugal, Malaysia, Tunisia, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, UAE