Haider Ali: Athletes who fell victim to polio 15 days after birth and won the first Paralympic gold medal for Pakistan

"We go abroad only to make our country famous. Tears were flowing from my eyes when the flag of Pakistan was being waved. I can't describe my condition. "

These were the words of Pakistani Paralympic athlete Haider Ali, who won the first gold medal in the country's history in the discus throw event at the Tokyo Paralympics on Friday.

Haider Ali won the gold medal in the standing discus throw event by throwing at a distance of 55.26 meters and this is also his best performance personally. His throw was three meters ahead of the second-ranked athlete.

Remember that Haider Ali is the most successful and well-known athlete of Pakistan in Paralympic competitions.

He won silver at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics and bronze medals at the 2016 Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, but in both events, he competed in the long jump event.

In an interview with Jaani Sports Urdu from Tokyo after winning the gold medal, Haider Ali said: “After my gold medal, other athletes will also be encouraged that they too can achieve success in international competitions outside the country. My performance is also a message to young people to take part in positive activities and protect themselves from bad company.

However, he also appealed to the government to provide funds for Paralympic athletes.

Why is Haider Ali a Paralympic athlete?

Haider Ali hails from Gujranwala, Pakistan and is affiliated with WAPDA on the basis of sports.

Haider Ali's participation in the Paralympics instead of the usual competitions is due to the fact that his right leg is one inch shorter than his left leg and two inches thinner but he never let it get in his way. Considered successful para-athletes.

Haider Ali says that he trains like ordinary athletes and his coach Akbar Ali Mughal trains him hard.

Haider Ali used to take part in long jump but then he adopted discus throw.

"He was 15 days old when he got polio."

Haider Ali's father, Baba Sadiq, is not happy about his son's gold medal win. A series of congratulators continues at his home in Gujranwala.

Speaking to Jaani Sports Urdu, Baba Sadiq said, "My son has fulfilled my dream." I played kabaddi in my youth, while Haider's grandfather used to play wrestling. This young man did what we could not do and we all raised our heads with pride

Baba Sadiq says that Haider Ali was only 15 days old when he contracted polio. We treated him a lot but he didn't get better but as he got older he started to see encouragement instead of despair.

Remember that Pakistan, including Afghanistan and Nigeria, is one of the only countries where the polio virus is still found, and because of this, the country has been banned from traveling in the past. In addition, polio vaccination teams also face security threats on a daily basis and many polio personnel and their security personnel have become victims of terrorism.

Baba Sadiq says that since Haider was in primary school, he had shown signs of becoming a good athlete. I always encouraged him and said just eat and work hard

Haider Ali's international career

• Haider Ali's international career began in 2006 when he won a gold medal and two silver medals in a competition in Malaysia.
• She won a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics.
• He won gold and bronze medals at the 2010 Para-Asian Games in China.
• He won a gold medal at the 2016 Asia-Oceania Championships in Dubai.
• He won a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Paralympics.
• He won two gold and one bronze medal at the 2018 Para-Asian Games in Indonesia.
• He won two gold and one silver medal at the 2019 International Championships in China.

Difficulties in preparation and the dual importance of the medal

Compared to the previous two medals, this achievement is not only important because it is a gold medal, but also because it is very important because this time his training was affected due to the situation of the code.

"Grounds were closed in Lahore and Islamabad, so I had to stay in my hometown of Gujranwala and train for five or six months."

Haider Ali says he has also been facing a shortage of funds. "Even though I qualified for the Tokyo Paralympics in 2019, it was uncertain whether I would be able to compete until the end of the year," he said. Is.

"I received my ticket just eight days before I arrived in Tokyo on August 20 and my departure was confirmed," he said.

Haider Ali explains that the Pakistan Sports Board and the Ministry of Inter-Provincial Liaison have always been cooperating with us. This time I am especially grateful to Punjab Minister Rai Teymour Khan who arranged a week-long camp for me and paid for all the dope tests and code tests that took place during that time.