Paralympics: Pakistan’s only para-athlete Haider Ali leaves for Paris

Haider Ali, Pakistan’s only para-athlete participating in the upcoming Paris Paralympics, left for the French capital on Monday along with his coach Akbar Ali. The opening ceremony on August 28 will mark the official start of the Games after the successful conclusion of the Olympics earlier this month. Haider, a native of Gujranwala, will represent Pakistan in the F37 category of the discus throw event on September 6. This will be Haider’s fifth appearance in the event held once in four years. He won the gold medal in discus throw at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics with a throw of 55.26m.

He won a silver medal in the long jump at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics and a bronze medal in the same event at the 2016 Rio Paralympics. Unfortunately, he was unable to participate in the 2012 London Paralympics due to injury.

Earlier, Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) Director General Yasir Pirzada announced that Haider would once again represent Pakistan at this year’s Paralympics and expressed confidence in his abilities to win a medal. “We are proud to send Haider Ali to the Paralympics once again. His exceptional talent and dedication make him a top contender for another medal, and we are confident he will make Pakistan proud again,” Pirzada said.

More than 4,000 athletes from 170 countries will participate in the Games, which will showcase the abilities of athletes with various physical disabilities.

Javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem won the gold medal at the Paris Olympics with an Olympic record throw of 92.97m to top Pakistan’s medal tally. He finished ahead of Tokyo Olympics gold medallist Neeraj Chopra of India and Anderson Peters of Grenada.

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