Paralympian Haider Ali has won Pakistan’s first-ever gold medal in the discus throw event at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics on Friday.
Haider touched the mark of 55.26 meters in his fifth attempt out of the total six he made to score the best distance. Ukraine’s Zhabnyak took the silver medal with a 52.43 meter throw, while Brazilian Teixeira de Souza won bronze with a 51.86 meter throw.
Haider had won two medals, a silver in Beijing and a Bronze in Rio in the long jump event for Pakistan.
Ali has won gold for Pakistan amidst challenging times. He told newsmen that his training had been disrupted due to restrictions imposed in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. “We missed out many crucial days of training,” he said.
Ali also expressed frustration over the lack of support from the government of Pakistan in arranging travel of para-athletes to Tokyo.
He appealed to the government to provide the same support to paralympians that Olympians enjoyed. “Paralympics is the biggest event in the world and to even get here and participate here is an honour. I have even won medals for the country. Paralympians should get equal support so that we can also train better, compete in a better way, give better results and make Pakistan proud. I am grateful to NPC, because of them I am where I am today. Because of the efforts by the NPC, I am in Tokyo today.”
Haider touched the mark of 55.26 meters in his fifth attempt out of the total six he made to score the best distance. Ukraine’s Zhabnyak took the silver medal with a 52.43 meter throw, while Brazilian Teixeira de Souza won bronze with a 51.86 meter throw.
Haider had won two medals, a silver in Beijing and a Bronze in Rio in the long jump event for Pakistan.
Ali has won gold for Pakistan amidst challenging times. He told newsmen that his training had been disrupted due to restrictions imposed in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. “We missed out many crucial days of training,” he said.
Ali also expressed frustration over the lack of support from the government of Pakistan in arranging travel of para-athletes to Tokyo.
He appealed to the government to provide the same support to paralympians that Olympians enjoyed. “Paralympics is the biggest event in the world and to even get here and participate here is an honour. I have even won medals for the country. Paralympians should get equal support so that we can also train better, compete in a better way, give better results and make Pakistan proud. I am grateful to NPC, because of them I am where I am today. Because of the efforts by the NPC, I am in Tokyo today.”