Paralympian Haider Ali earned Pakistan its first-ever Paralympics gold medal as he made 55.26 meters long throw in the F37 discus throw competition held at Tokyo Paralympics.
Ali made the throw in his fifth attempt out of the total six attempts. The distance was three meters longer than the silver achiever. It is Ali’s personal best score as well.
Ukraine’s Zhabnyak won the silver medal with a throw of 52.43 meters, while Teixeira de Souza of Brazil bagged the bronze medal by making a 51.86 meters long throw.
Paralympic Games’ official twitter handle made a tweet, quoting Haider Ali, who upon his victory said, “This Gold will be very important for Para sport in my country. They will see what can be achieved through hard work and to be able to compete internationally for Pakistan”.
Haider suffers from cerebral palsy – a disorder in which one part of the body gets weak as compared to other parts. All the athletes suffering from cerebral palsy participate in the F37 category at paralympic games.
He was the last hope for Pakistan after Anila Izzat Baig, the other Pakistani para-athlete who got disqualified from the event.
Congratulatory notes for Haider Ali:
- Government of Pakistan applauded Haider through a tweet from its official handle which said,” Paralympian HaiderAli made the country proud by winning the first-ever gold medal for Pakistan in Paralympics. He achieved the feat in the Men’s Discus Throw competition, recording his personal best throw of a striking 55.26m.
- US Embassy in Pakistan congratulated Ali on his historical victory. The tweet said, “Congratulations to Haider Ali for winning the first-ever Paralympic gold medal for Pakistan! Haider is used to creating history having secured Pakistani’s 1st Paralympic games medal (Silver) in 2008. Well done!
- Pakistan’s current Minister of Information also tweeted a congratulatory wish, saying,” Thank you Haider Ali. We are proud of you.”
Previous Achievements of Haider Ali:
- Silver Medal in 2008 in the long jump event at Paralympics, Beijing.
- Bronze medal in 2016 in the long jump event at Rio Paralympics.
- Silver Medal in 2019 in the discus throw event at World Para-Athletics Championship, Dubai.