Abditatch "Abdi" Fatah Dini (born 1 January 1981) is a professional Canadian wheelchair basketball player. He is currently on the Canadian Team and has won numerous medals in his international career. He has also received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.

Personal

Dini was born on 1 January 1981 in

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

and now resides in

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Canada. He became paralytic when he was injured by a roadside bomb. He started to play wheelchair basketball in 1996.

Early career

In 1997, Dini had won first place at World Junior Championships in Toronto where he was named the most valuable player (MVP). He also won first place at the CWBL Junior Finals where he was named MVP. He won second place with Team Ontario at the National Championships in the Canada Games in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, where he was also named an all-star player. In 1999, Dini won first place in the Canada Games with Team Ontario. Two years later in 2001, he won first with Team Canada in the World Junior Championships in

Blumenau, Brazil Blumenau is a city in Vale do Itajaí, state of Santa Catarina, in the South Region of Brazil. It is away from the state capital of Florianópolis. The city was founded by the German chemist and pharmacist Hermann Bruno Otto Blumenau ( ...

. Dini had also gotten a third place in the Canada Games with Team Ontario in 2003 and 2007.

International career

Dini won silver in the

2008 Paralympics The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games (), the 13th Summer Paralympic Games, took place in Beijing, China from September 6 to 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao. It wa ...

Beijing, China } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

with Team Canada. They had also won second place at the

North America Cup The North America Cup is an annual harness racing event for 3-year-old standardbred pacing horses which is held at Woodbine Mohawk Park in Campbellville, Ontario, Canada. The race replaced the Queen City Pace run from 1964 to 1983. From 1984 to ...

Birmingham, USA Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fro ...

. In 2009, Dini with Team Canada won second at the Americas Cup in

Richmond, BC Richmond is a coastal city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. It occupies almost the entirety of Lulu Island (excluding Queensborough), between the two estuarine distributaries of the Fraser River. Encompassing the adja ...

and was named an All-star. They had also won second place in the Rollers World Challenge in Australia. In 2010, Dini won seventh place in the World Championships. He had also gotten second at Paralympic Cup in Manchester, UK. He won third place at the

Parapan American Games The Parapan American Games is an international multi-sport event for athletes with physical disabilities held every four years after every Pan American Games. The first Games were held in 1999 in Mexico City, Mexico. The 2003 Parapan American Ga ...

in Guadalajara, Mexico in 2011 and another third place at the International Tournament of Champions in Charlotte, USA. He had also won first place at the Paralympic Cup in Manchester, UK. In 2012, Dini won first place with Team Canada at the London Paralympic Games in

London, England London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...

. They had also won first place at the Continental Clash tournament in

Worcester, England Worcester ( ) is a cathedral city in Worcestershire, England, of which it is the county town. It is south-west of Birmingham, north-west of London, north of Gloucester and north-east of Hereford. The population was 103,872 in the 2021 Census ...

. One year later, they won sixth place at Americas Cup in Bogota, Colombia, second place at the Kitakyushu Champions Cup in

Kitakyushu, Japan is a city located in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of June 1, 2019, Kitakyushu has an estimated population of 940,978, making it the second-largest city in both Fukuoka Prefecture and the island of Kyushu after the city of Fukuoka. It is one of ...

and fifth place at the Easter Tournament in Blankenberge, Belgium. In 2014, Team Canada won fifth place at the Easter Tournament in Blankenberge, Belgium.

Awards

In 2009, Dini was nominated for the "male athlete with a disability of the year award" from the Sport Alliance of Ontario. He also received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2013.

References

External links

* * (2012–2016) * (2008) {{DEFAULTSORT:Dini, Abdi 1981 births Living people Canadian men's wheelchair basketball players Paralympic wheelchair basketball players of Canada Paralympic gold medalists for Canada Paralympic silver medalists for Canada Paralympic medalists in wheelchair basketball Wheelchair basketball players at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Wheelchair basketball players at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Paralympics