Haider Ali wins first ever Paralympic gold medal for Pakistan

Haider Ali threw his discus at a distance of 55.26 meters, making him win gold in F37 event. He has also won a silver in the 2008 Paralympics

On Friday 3rd September, discus thrower Haider Ali bagged for Pakistan its first gold in the Paralympic games. Haider throughout the finals gave an excellent performance and was at the top of the list for the most time. In his fifth attempt Haider managed to throw the discus as far away as 55.26 meters giving him a good lead.

Alongside Haider were Ukraine’s Zhabnyak and Brazilian Teixeira de Souza both of which won the silver and bronze respectively. Zhabnyak threw the discus at around 52.43 meters whereas de Souza threw it around 51.86 meters. Both of the scores were significantly lower than Haider’s personal best of 55.26.

Ali after winning the event said that his ‘gold medal’ is very important for Pakistan, since it will inspire other disabled people in Pakistan to participate in Paralympic sports. He said that now all disabled people in Pakistan will be able to see, that anything can be achieved through hard work. “I hope to be a role model for other people that have a disability [and who] don’t compete in sports to take part in para-sports” added Ali.

Pakistan congratulating Ali for winning the Paralympic gold

Following his win Ali recieved a lot of appreciation and congratulations from Pakistanis all over the world. People appreciated him for not letting his disabilities stop him from achieving anything he wants to. Several politicians and celebrities also came out and congratulated Ali.

The US embassy for Pakistan also congratulated Ali and said that “Haider Ali is used to create history”.

Information minister Fawad Chaudhry and other from his political party also congratulated Ali for his victory. The information minister in his tweet thanked Ali for winning the medal for Pakistan and said that the “nation in proud of you”.

Haider Ali’s disability and his previous victories

Ali suffers from cerebral palsy, the champ however doesn’t let his disability stop him and continues to win. He previously won a bronze medal in 2016 and a Silver medal in 2008, these medals however were in the long jump event. These medals in multiple events shows how Ali is one excellent sportsman.