Muhammad Naeem, Mehr Ali and Naseer Ahmed snag the top three spots in boys 100m and 400m race. PHOTO: Twitter/ @iStreetChild
The team comprising Mehar Ali, Mohammad Naeem, Naseer Ahmed and Salman Hussain collected four gold, five silver and four bronze medals to finish ahead of eight other participating countries — India, Burundi, Egypt, Great Britain, Mozambique, Liberia, Philippines and hosts Brazil.
Pakistan win 10 medals at Street Child Games in Rio
Naeem, Ali and Ahmed shocked their opponents on Monday to win medals in the 100m and 400m event, winning gold, silver and bronze respectively in both events. Naeem clocked an impressive 12.00sec to win the 100m sprint, while Ali and Ahmed finished second and third respectively.
In the 400m sprint, Naeem was the fastest athlete clocking 54.91sec, while Ali finished second (57.85sec) and Ahmed claimed bronze (58.65sec).
“What can I say, I’m just happy,” said Ali after the event. “I am somebody and I just want to celebrate that.”
The former Street Child Football World Cup star also impressed in the long jump competition as he jumped 5.12m to win the gold medal, while Ahmed took silver in the same event.
Meanwhile, Hussain led his team to a gold medal in the mixed relay event as the team clocked 58.53sec.
Squad finalised for Street Child Games
According to Azad Foundation — the Non-Governmental Organisation responsible for assembling and sending the team to Rio — official Irfan Maqbool, the performances put in by Pakistan stunned the world.
“We can just say that our children have showed everyone that we can pick ourselves up,” Maqbool told The Express Tribune. “We can win regardless of anything and even without any help from anyone.”
Published in The Express Tribune, March 22nd, 2016.
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