Pakistani bags gold in Tokyo Paralympics
Haider Ali on Friday became the first Pakistani to win a gold medal at the Summer Paralympics as he hit 55.26m in Tokyo during his F37 discus throw final.
He achieved the feat at his fifth attempt out of a total of six to score the best distance, almost 3m longer than Ukraine's Mykola Zhabnyak who scored 52.43m to come in second place.
Brazilian Joao Victor Teixeira de Souza Silva came in third with a throw of 51.86m.
"There was a lot of tension, a lot of worry, because it was raining, this was not easy at all,'' reflects 36-year-old Ali.
The Gujranwala-based athlete has done what no one has – he had created history for Pakistan at the Paralympics in 2008, becoming the first one from the nation to win a medal at the global stage.
He did it again in Rio 2016 Games, albeit both medals were in long jump. However, this time, Ali cemented his status of being the master of multiple track and field disciplines with a gold medal in the discus throw event.
"Training for the games was difficult because we don't even have proper training facilities, but now that I have won the medal I feel so good," Ali told The Express Tribuneafter the event.
"It was getting so hard to train after a point that I made my own place to do so. The Covid-19 restrictions were there, but we don't have proper facilities so I had to do something on my own in my town. Then of course the tickets were an issue too. But I'm so happy.”
He added that he had the silver from 2008, the bronze from 2016, but it was this gold medal that he had been working so hard for.
Ali has been an experienced athlete now, but he wanted to make sure that the gold medal comes to him. In Pakistan, a society that already does not have the infrastructure and awareness about the people with special needs and then, to top it all off, do not take sports seriously, he wanted to make a point.
Read Pakistani paralympians: Haider Ali requests equal support
"This took me five years of training," said Ali. "I didn't even have the proper facilities, but since I qualified for this again in 2019 too I wanted to come to Tokyo and win the medal.”
He said even in the morning, a little while before the event, he was trying to ensure that he made the best of the conditions.
"It was tough, and there was this tension, because of the rain the weather was tricky, there was a lot of slipperiness in the field as well, the discus was slipping through my hands too," explained Ali.
His first two attempts had been dismissed as fouls, while he made sure that he remained in the competition with a throw of 47.84m. Then again he had a failed attempt in the fourth go, but in his fifth attempt he conquered the field with 55.26m, that was also his personal best and enough to bag the gold medal.
Ali said for him the gold medal meant that the government should now focus on the Paralympics and the athletes playing and aspiring to make Pakistan proud in sports.
"I want to dedicate this medal to the people of Pakistan who prayed for me," said Ali.
He added that his family and loved ones were proud of him too.
Ali has been in Tokyo with Anila Izzat Baig, who competed in the women's discus throw event F64 and Chef de Mission Paralympics Fatima Shami.
Ali has been in Tokyo with Anila Izzat Baig, who competed in the women's discus throw event F64, and Chef de Mission Fatima Shami.
Fatima has been extremely supportive as she has been taking care of all the affairs from training schedules to daily Covid-19 tests.
She urges the Government of Pakistan to look at the results and support the NPC of Pakistan, so that more women para-athletes can come forward and more paralympians can be seen. So far, she said, everything was done on self-help basis.
"At least support NPC like they support the Olympics. There is a lot of talent, there are so many more experienced para-athletes who couldn't participate in the Games, because we don't have the resources and funds. Meanwhile, there is also lack of awareness," said Fatima.
"It is so hard to get the para-athletes to come and take sports seriously because they mostly don't even get the facilities. We don't have proper facilities for them and then there is lack of awareness among the people. But this can change if the government supports us. We'll even see more female para-athletes, who we want to focus on for the future. But all this needs resources and funds. We didn't even know that we would be able to come to Tokyo until a few days before the event," said Fatima.
Fatima added that despite the challenges and hurdles, on Friday Ali made history despite having a tough start.
Fatima said the three-member contingent would return to the country on September 6.
گولڈ میڈل جیتنے کے بعد پاکستان کا قومی ترانہ - پاک سرزمین شادباد 🇵🇰#HaiderAli pic.twitter.com/Zb0hpYcBhJ
— Haider Ali (@HaiderAli_55) September 3, 2021
(责任编辑:产品中心)
-
Echo Dot (5th gen) deal — get it for $29.99 at Amazon
GET $20 OFF:As of Aug. 23, you can get an Echo Dot (5th gen) for $29.99 at Amazon, down from $49.99. ...[详细] -
北纬网讯 芦山”4.20”地震牵动着全国人民的心,为解决雅安重灾区急需车辆的燃眉之急。24日,安徽江淮汽车股份有限公司在市体育馆举行了车辆捐赠仪式,将10辆城市越野车和10轻卡车捐献给雅安重灾区投入使 ...[详细]
-
雅安芦山“4.20”7.0级地震牵动着全国人民的心,大家都想着要为灾区贡献自己的一份力。雨城区音乐家协会理事黄少翔这几天就特别的忙,不为别的,就为给灾区人民献首歌,鼓鼓劲。 见到黄少翔时,他正闭眼轻 ...[详细]
-
雅安日报讯20日11时,芦山地震发生3小时后,石棉县亿欣钙业党支部将5000元“特殊党费”交到石棉县委组织部。亿欣钙业党支部书记含着泪花哽咽地说,请组织一定将这一份小小心意转交给灾区同胞,“企业党支部 ...[详细]
-
The Weird, Wonderful World of Water Towers
These behemoths of steel, iron, or concrete can often be seen for miles around. They’re fixtur ...[详细] -
22日上午,记者驻守我市抗震救灾应急指挥部,一位中年男子急切地向市应急办寻求通往重灾区的车辆通行证。“如果不能用货车运,咱们就用越野车运。不管怎样,一定要将药品运到重灾区。”四川科伦药业股份有限公司董 ...[详细]
-
四川“4•20”芦山强烈地震发生后,石棉县志愿者服务分队积极行动,全力以赴开展抗震救灾志愿者服务活动。目前共有48支志愿者服务队伍1547人,参与了支援芦山灾区、抢险救援、灾情调查统计、安 ...[详细]
-
亲子采摘乐,缤Fun过新年 | 请到广东和美乡村过大年_南方+_南方plus这个春节,就要来点不一样的南方农村报联合广东省乡村休闲产业协会推出“请到广东和美乡村过大年”专题持续推出“采摘”“花海”等不 ...[详细]
-
优化广东优质农产品产销资源对接!“农友圈”又有新动作_南方+_南方plus2023年10月,广东省农业农村厅依托“粤农技”微信小程序建成并运营了农业技术需求精准对接服务公益性平台——“农友圈”。截至7 ...[详细]
-
...[详细]