New Delhi: Haider Ali Friday became the first-ever Pakistan athlete to win a gold medal at the Tokyo Paralympic games. The discus thrower hit 55.26m in his fifth attempt — 3m longer than Ukraine’s Mykola Zhabnyak who came in second place with a 52.43m throw.
“There was a lot of tension, a lot of worry, because it was raining, this was not easy at all,” Ali was quoted by Pakistan daily The Express Tribune as saying. He added that training for the games had been a challenge due to the lack of proper training facilities in Pakistan, but winning the gold felt good.
Ali, who has cerebral palsy, had also created history back in 2008 when he won the country its first ever Paralympics medal, a silver, at the Beijing games.
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All about the athlete
Hailing from Punjab’s Gujranwala, Ali became fond of athletic sports during his childhood. But it was only in college that he was “introduced to the sport with proper guidance”. He was quoted as saying that he would often bunk classes to attend long jump and discus throw training sessions.
“I love sports. It is a big source of rehabilitation, especially for Para athletes,” he was quoted as saying. In 2004, he decided to take the leap and professionally take up discus throw and made it to the Pakistan national para-athletics team two years later. So far, he has made four Paralympics appearances: 2008, 2012, 2016, and Tokyo 2020.
The first medal he won for Pakistan in 2008 Paralympics was in the F37/38 long jump competition. In 2016, he once again scripted history by becoming the first athlete to win more than one Paralympic medal as he bagged the bronze in the T37 long jump event.
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Twitter celebrates
Plaudits for the athlete have been pouring in on Twitter. Prime Minister Imran Khan in a tweet Friday congratulated the athlete as he said, “His discus throw of 55.26m won him the medal, making the whole Pakistan proud.”
Congratulations #HaiderAli on winning the first ever Gold Medal for Pakistan in #Paralympics. His discus throw of 55.26m won him the medal, making the whole Pakistan?? proud#TokyoParalympic pic.twitter.com/hiro6kMgsI
— Prime Minister's Office, Pakistan (@PakPMO) September 3, 2021
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi also tweeted saying, “Congratulations to #HaiderAli for winning Pakistan’s first gold medal in the Paralympic Games in the Men’s Discus Throw.”
Congratulations to #HaiderAli for winning Pakistan’s first gold medal in the Paralympic Games in the Men's Discus Throw. #PrideofPakistan ?? #Paralympics pic.twitter.com/9VbrxrtVVd
— Shah Mahmood Qureshi (@SMQureshiPTI) September 3, 2021
Journalist Faizan Lakhani also sounded a “hurrah” on the microblogging site as he said, “CONGRATULATIONS PAKISTAN. Haider Ali wins Gold Medal in Paralympics. Allhamdolillah. Hurraaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!”
CONGRATULATIONS PAKISTAN. Haider Ali wins Gold Medal in Paralympics. Allhamdolillah.
Hurraaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!! pic.twitter.com/vhZlnKBZnG
— Faizan Lakhani (@faizanlakhani) September 3, 2021
Pakistan karate player, Kulsoom Hazara, tweeted with a video of the Pakistani national anthem being played at the medal ceremony. “The emotional yet the best ever moment Flag of Pakistan national anthem and uprising Our beloved Pakistan’s flag among all other flags.”
The emotional yet the best ever moment ❤❤?? national anthem and uprising Our beloved Pakistan's flag among all other flags. #HaiderAli#CongratulationPakistan #Paralympics #goldmedal #PakistanZindabad pic.twitter.com/7GnB897SZI
— Kulsoom Hazara?? (@kulsoomkarateka) September 3, 2021