Pak Paralympics athlete Haider eyes success

PARIS:

Pakistan's Haider Ali believes that the Paralympic Games are always special and something he looks forward to.

Haider is a hero that Pakistan does not deserve. Even though athletics is enjoying great hype due to Arshad Nadeem's feat at the Olympics, the same feat was achieved by Haider in Tokyo in discus throw where he became the first Pakistani to win the Paralympics gold medal.

Previously, Haider did make the world record in Paralympics long jump too in 2008 and won a silver, losing out to Tunisia's Farhat Chida on a tie-break. He also got a bronze medal in 2016 Rio Games.

So far his record has been impeccable with three medals in five Paralympics. But all of his hard work and achievements have never been recognized on the national level or splashed in the media in Pakistan which is really unfortunate.

On Sunday, both Haider and his coach Akbar Ali Mughal sat down with this correspondent to discuss their experience in Paris at the opening ceremony on August 28 and said their training in Paris so far has been satisfactory.

Haider's event is scheduled for September 6.

Unlike the Paris Olympics ceremony, which was held amid rain showers, the Paralympics opening ceremony was more enjoyable to the athletes as the weather was clear, with a beautiful sunset in the background - from Champs Elysees to La Concorde.

"Alhamdulilah, it was such a great experience because of the venue that they had chosen," Haider told this correspondent. "Mainly because I got to interact with my fans and all the sports lovers who were there. The venue was nice, and there was a lot of anticipation for this mega event.

Mughal also agreed with Haider and said that he was expecting the same kind of venue and arrangement for the Paralympics ceremony as it was for the Olympics and they were quite good.

However, his favourite part was the way ceremony went big on inclusivity.

Haider has been to every Paralympic Games since 2008. So when asked which one has been his favourite so far he was quick to respond.

"My favourite and best Paralympics Ceremony was that of Beijing 2008, that's because that was the first ever Paralympics ceremony I participated in and it will forever be the most special one," he recalled.

His coach Mughal also said that the Beijing Games were very well-organised and thought-out but if one really needs to pick the second best out of the five they have seen so far, they will pick London 2012.

"I can say London was a great ceremony and Games, but with Beijing and the way Chinese worked hard at every aspect was very impressive," added Mughal.

Food has been great for Haider in Paris and he is enjoying it. "We South Asians do miss our roti because no matter what we are served, we always feel the need for our kind of bread. But I am very happy with the food here," said Haider.

When asked if they are also facing any issues regarding the accommodations in Paris as the Olympic athletes did, Haider said that there are minor issues as the rooms and the service are not very good compared to the other Games he had participated in.

"One can get very impressed if one has no point of reference from the past, but Alhamdulilah, I have been to other Games too, and in the previous four I have received the facilities that I am not seeing here," he said candidly.