Shaimaa Samy Ab D Ellatif is Egypt's lone representative at the ongoing Dubai 2021 Para-Badminton tournament, and she expects to make the most of the opportunity by not only gaining experience but also enhancing the color of her medal in international competition.

Shaimaa began playing Para-Badminton in 2018. She believes she has made considerable progress in the sport, having risen to the top 20 of the world rankings in the women's singles WH1 category and winning a mixed doubles bronze medal at the Peru Para-Badminton International 2020.

"Like others, I am excited to participate in the first tournament after the pandemic. The rivalry is fierce and it's a great opportunity to gain experience and train for Tokyo 2020. My main goal is to qualify for Tokyo, so I'll give it my all in the final qualifying event in Spain "Shaimaa said.

Shaimaa also aims to win a bronze at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, inspired by Egypt's Olympian shuttler Hadia Hosny.

"I'd like to play in more tournaments, gain experience, and see more champions compete in my division." This will encourage me to share my experience with others, as well as inspire more female players back home. And we should hope to win a gold medal in international tournaments one day.” Shaimaa said.

Shaimaa practices with able-bodied players because she doesn't have a wheelchair training partner at her Cairo club Alzahoor. Para-Badminton is a relatively recent sport in Egypt, if not Africa, having only begun in 2018.” I began playing in 2018 and played in my first international tournament in Fazza Para-Badminton 2018. As a consequence, it is special to me. I'm hoping to make the finals on Sunday even more unforgettable.

Shaimaa says, “We have ten clubs in Egypt and 70-80 disabled players in various sports. My club AlZahoor has a lot of para-badminton players, but no wheelchair badminton players. As a result, I don't have a regular doubles partner and must find a new one every time.”

"However, if I'm paired with a good partner, it'll be perfect. I'm playing mixed doubles with my partner for the second time. Playing women's doubles is my first. The secret to playing well in doubles is better communication, so I try to communicate with my partner as much as possible,” said Shaimaa, who lost 21-16, 14-21, 21-13 in her women's doubles WH1-WH2 third-round match to Austria's Henriett Koosz and Switzerland's Ilaria Renggli.

Shaimaa now aims to qualify for Tokyo 2020 as a wildcard from Africa. “All I can do now is cross my fingers and hope for the best in the upcoming tournaments to improve my chances. “The Paralympics will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” she said.

In other events, the knockout stage started the same day. The top seed participants are there in all categories, winning to advance. On Saturday, quarterfinals and semifinals will be held for few categories of matches.