As part of the activities of the holy month of Ramadan, Qatar Social and Cultural Center for Blind (QSCCB) organized a sports meeting entitled “Sīrah wa Masīrah” (Biography and Journey), during which a number of the players of the Qatari national goalball team for the blind were hosted to discuss their sporting career and their passion for sport, and how they graduated until they became the stars of the Qatari national team for goalball.
The Center hosted, via the Zoom remote conferencing platform, a number of prominent goalball players, who represented the country and flied the Qatar flag high in various spheres, among them the captain of the team, Walid Al-Kooheji, and players, Mohamed Al-Kahlout, Abdul-Hadi Al-Nabit, Abbad Al-Shamali, Hassan Al-Kooheji, Noureddin Ashraf, and Ikrami Ahmed. In addition to the former national team coach, Hussein Al-Haddad, and the current coach of the team, Abdul Qadir Khadim.
During the sporting evening, the guests shed light on their major achievements in sports, the championships they won, the difficulties they faced in this journey, and how they overcame them. They also emphasized that despite these difficulties, they managed to achieve numerous successes, especially their last achievement as they won the Gold medal in the West Asian Games held in Jordan in September 2019, in addition to winning a number of other sports tournaments. They emphasized the importance of continuing to play sports in spite of difficulties.
QSCCB periodically organizes goalball tournaments for the blind in cooperation with the Qatar Sports Federation for Special Needs in order to spread the culture of practicing sports among people with visual disabilities, exchange experiences and acquaintance between the first generation of goalball players and the emerging generation of young people, to come out with a new generation that will continue on their path.
Goalball sport is the world’s first game for people with a vision impairment. Participants compete in two teams, each consisting of three main players and three back-up players. Player wear eyepatches before each team tries to throw the ball into the opponent’s goal. The match lasts for twenty-three minutes, divided in two halves, separated by a rest of no more than three minutes. The game relies on throwing power, wit, and hearing, as the ball has bells embedded in it to make a sound as it heads to the opposing team, by which players judge the position and movement of the ball, thus helping the other team to catch the ball.