BY OUR CORRESPONDENT
Multi-talented Stency Neema will be the first Kenyan to compete at the Paris Paralympic Games.
The 22-year-old Business Management student at the Nairobi Institute of Business Studies, faces Salma Ali Abd Al Moneem Hassan from Egypt in women’s under-52 kilograms (K44 category) on Thursday 11.53am (Kenyan time) at Grand Palais.
Neema will be eying to stop Hassan, the 2023 world para taekwondo silver medallist in the round of 16 contest of athletes, with one arm.
While Neema will be competing for the first time in taekwondo at a high level, the 21-year-old Hassan has competed in a number of major tournaments including the 2021 Tokyo Paralympics when para taekwondo featured for the first time.
She finished seventh at the Tokyo Games, the same year she made her debut at the world championships in Istanbul, Turkey, finishing fifth. She went on to claim silver in Veracruz, Mexico in the same championships in 2023.
This year, she finished fifth in the European Championships.
Neema, who took up taekwondo two years ago, said that she isn’t cowed by statistics hence will give out her best despite the games being her maiden major outing for her.
“It’s my desire to open the stage for Team Kenya at the Paris Paralympics Games,” said Neema, who also plays badminton, athletics and para skiing.
Neema’s compatriot Julieta Moipo (under 57kg) will take the stage on Friday where she will encounter another season player, Micey Marija, 27, from Serbia.
Marija attended the Tokyo Games finishing seventh, a performance that followed her silver medal exploits at the 2019 World Championships in Turkey and i2023 World Championships in Veracruz, Mexico.
Para taekwondo is one of Paralympics’ newest sports, having been introduced for the first time at Tokyo Games.
A total of 12 athletes per event will contest 10 different medals in five separate weight categories for each gender.
Neema qualified for the 2024 Paris Paralympics after her gamble paid off when she attended the African Taekwondo Championships in February in Dakar, Senegal.
