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In a fierce display of resilience and athletic excellence, Team Palestine made history scoring fourth in Asia with seven top ten finishes at the UCI Asian Para-cycling Road Championships on 12 and 13 February.
Four amputee athletes from the Gaza Sunbirds para-cycling squad overcame immense challenges, including life changing injuries and Israeli bombardment. And they became the first Palestinians to ever compete at the competition. They narrowly missed the podiums but sent out a message of hope to the world.
Alaa al Dali is the team captain of Gaza Sunbirds and rode in the championships for Team Palestine. He said:
At a time where Palestine is disappearing from the news cycle we will keep pushing to break through podium positions to raise the flag.
Para-cycling towards the LA Olympics
The event in Saudi Arabia saw the most significant competition thus far for Palestine’s para-cycling team, the Gaza Sunbirds. Four of its evacuee squad members delivered breakthrough performances and two international race debuts. This formed part of their Paralympic qualification cycle building towards the 2028 LA Games.
Team Captain al Dali and athlete Mahdi Mortaja both placed fourth in their road races in C2 and C4 categories respectively, narrowly missing the podium. Mortaja’s performance – his first global competition – marks one of the most remarkable turnarounds from surgery to elite sport. He only had his leg amputated a year earlier.
Their teammate Mohammed Asfour finished 7th in his time trial, achieving his highest rank to date. This was despite him requiring emergency medical attention during the event due to an elevated heart rate. Ramzi Rashid, the team’s most recent recruit, finished 8th in his time trial.
A representative from the Palestinian National Cycling Federation said:
We extend our sincere appreciation to Gaza Sunbirds for their distinguished participation in the recent competition and for continued contribution to strengthening Palestine’s presence within international sport.
The level of organisation, preparation, and representation demonstrated throughout this trip marks an important advancement not only for para-cycling, but for the broader development of Palestinian sport as a whole.
These powerful successes come six months after al Dali and Mortaja won Palestine’s first three top 20 finishes at the 2025 Para-cycling Road World Championships in Belgium. Alongside their fellow evacuee Gaza Sunbirds teammates, they compete as Team Palestine under conditions unlike most national teams.
The team has no official training centre, limited access to equipment, and athletes displaced across borders. And each team member has had to overcome immense challenges, including life changing injuries and living under Israeli bombardment, just to reach the start line.
Injured by Israel – taking on the world
Karim Ali and al Dali launched the para-cycling squad in 2020. The latter suffered an amputation after Israeli soldiers shot him in the leg during a peaceful protest in Gaza. He assembled 19 teammates with similar injuries from Israeli attacks and rewrote his personal ambition of competing individually into that of a collective project, using sport to empower others.
Mortaja and al Dali were evacuated in 2024 to compete globally and Asfour and Rashid joined the team last year after being displaced to Cairo. The athletes remaining in Gaza have been continuing the team’s courageous aid missions, using international donations to deliver a total of $520,000 worth of supplies over the last 27 months.
They aim one day to build a sports and rehabilitation centre in the strip in order to support and uplift the thousands of Gazans amputated as a result of Israel’s current assault.
Ali and al Dali founded the Gaza Sunbirds Team on the belief that sport can build bridges and advance mobility justice. In international competition, the team races as Team Palestine. The team is one of the rare and few ways Palestine is able to represent itself on the global stage.
Their participation at events like the Asian Para-cycling Championships places Palestine at the center of a crucial moment for the nation and for disabled athletes worldwide. The team’s mission transcends medals. From hospital beds to international competition (in under a year for those who left Gaza in 2025), these athletes are building something bigger than sport. It’s a movement of hope, unity, and resilience carried across borders.
Team Palestine’s historic achievements
At the UCI Asian Para-cycling Road World Championships, 12-13 February 2026:
- Total points for Team Palestine: Scoring fourth in Asia with seven top ten finishes.
- Alaa al Dali: Men Elite – Individual Road Race – C2: 4/9. Men Elite – Individual Time Trial- C2: 5/9.
- Mahdi Martaja: Men Elite – Individual Road Race – C4: 4/7. Men Elite – Individual Time Trial – C4: 6/7.
- Mohammed Asfour: Men Elite – Individual Time Trial – C2: 8/9.
- Ramzi Rashid: Men Elite – Individual Road Race – C2: 9/9. Men Elite – Individual Time Trial- C2: 9/9.
