Saudi Athletes Secure Early Wins at Asian Para Games 2026

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s campaign at the fifth Asian Para Games — Aichi-Nagoya 2026 — commenced with strong performances on Friday. In the table tennis Class 1 singles group stage, Rakan Al-Salmi secured a decisive 3-0 victory over Kazakhstan’s Ardak Nurmagomedov at the Sky Toyota Arena in Nagoya, Japan. Al-Salmi won the match with set scores of 11-7, 11-7, and 12-10, according to reports shared via X.

The Saudi table tennis contingent will see further action on Saturday, with Maryam Al-Muraisel and Zahra Al-Tala scheduled to compete. Al-Muraisel is slated to face India’s Ekta Bhyan, while Al-Tala will take on China’s Liu Jing before facing South Korea’s Seo Suyeon.

In the badminton competition, Mehdi Al-Makina delivered a dominant performance in the men’s singles WH2 category, defeating Hong Kong’s Chow Long-Ho 2-0 (21-9, 21-5). However, the results were mixed in other categories; Essam Ba’iti fell to Iraq’s Mohammed Al-Amshani 0-2 (12-21, 4-21) in the men’s singles WH1 section. Additionally, the duo of Al-Makina and Ba’iti were defeated 0-2 (4-21, 2-21) by India’s Abu Hubaida and Prem Kumar Ale in the men’s doubles WH1-WH2 category.

Badminton matches continue this Saturday. Al-Makina is set to face South Korea’s Yu Soo-young, while Ba’iti will compete against the UAE’s Jamal Al-Bedwawi. The pair will also move into doubles competition against Japan’s Daiki Kajiwara and Keita Nishimura.

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