Maldivian badminton player Aishath Maniya secures a gold medal win at the ongoing Special Olympics in Berlin, Germany.
Besides Maniya, Aishath Laika Hassan secured a gold medal in the 100 meter sprint category at the event.
Maniya secured her win after defeating Bulgaria’s Tianka Georgiva with a 19-21 and 10-21 set wins. She advanced to the finals in the event after defeating players from Jordan and Mongolia. The gifted badminton player is coached by Aishath Afnan Rasheed, a member of the national badminton team of the Maldives.
This also marks the first time Maldives is competing in badminton at the Special Olympics.
While Maniya secured a gold medal win for the Maldives, Mohamed Raif Shareef will compete in the third-place selection match in the boy’s division of badminton.
The Maldivian sprinter competing in this year’s Special Olympics, Zana Ali Shareef secured a bronze medal win in the 200-meter sprint, and became the first Maldivian athlete to secure a medal for the Maldives in this year’s event.
After Maniya's gold medal victory, Maldives achieved its second gold medal in the Special Olympics through Laika, who emerged as the first-place winner in the 100-meter sprint. Laika also participated in the 200-meter event and secured a fifth-place finish.
Zana, who won a bronze medal in the 200-meter category, achieved a fourth-place finish in the 100-meter event.
This marks the second occasion that Maldives has won gold medals since its began competing in the Special Olympics. The first gold medal was won by Shifna Ibrahim in the girls' 100-meter sprint at the 2019 Special Olympics held in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
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