Rabat – Morocco’s King Mohammed VI has expressed his “warm congratulations” for the athletes involved in the Tokyo Paralympic Games as the global event concludes. This year’s Paralympics was confusingly called the 2020 Paralympic Games due to its delay caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite its delays and surrounding COVID-19 concerns, the Paralympic games became a moment for Moroccan paralympians to shine, with many of the athletes returning home with silverware.
As the global sporting event unfolded many athletes received personal messages from King Mohammed VI, who appears to have keenly followed the nation’s athletes’ performance in Japan.
Moroccan state media revealed that the monarch has sent congratulatory messages to medalists, expressing his “warm congratulations” and his confidence that the victorious athletes have a promising athletic career ahead of them.
King Mohammed VI contacted Abdeslam Hili, who won a gold medal while setting a new world record in the 400 meter sprint. The monarch similarly congratulated silver medalists Fouzia El Kassioui, Youssra Karim, Mohamed Amguoun as well as Morocco’s bronze-medal winners Hayat El Garaa and Saida Amoudi.
Morocco’s Paralympic 5-a-side football team for the visually impaired are set to receive similar messages from the king after winning a bronze medal. The paralympic Atlas Lions managed to win the bronze medal in an amazing feat, as the 5 on 5 football competition requires players to play blindfolded.
Moroccans online expressed their pride in the team’s achievement, with Almassarssad Sports writing on facebook, “bravo to the players, bravo, the watchful staff of this team, bravo for your sacrifices, bravo for your fighting and manly play.”
The Moroccan sports broadcaster thanked the “national heroes” of the paralympic team “for honoring us and making us happy,” and had special congratulations for match commentator Ihssan Boukhar, “for his kind and beautiful words.”
As the Tokyo paralympics conclude, Morocco looks back on a successful sporting event, with the nation rallying behind the achievements of its Paralympians.
