Spirits of steel, dreams of gold
With a little encouragement and financial support, Pakistan’s Paralympians could sweep the games and bring home...
“If it doesn’t kill you, it only makes you stronger.” To many of us, this is just a saying; a clever quote to use in a conversation or to spice up a piece of writing. For Mudassar Baig, Naeem Masih, Haider Ali and Anila Baig it is the credo that defines their lives.
As a young boy, Mudassar had one love in his life: sports. Blessed with uncommon talent, he longed for the day when he would play football professionally, winning laurels for his country, his family and himself. An enthusiastic player, he ended up fracturing his leg in a match during his high school days. Unable to find affordable healthcare, the family instead took him to a quack who left him crippled. Only later would they learn that he suffered from polio, which had weakened his leg and caused the fracture.
For most of us, this would be the end of the story. What would follow would be a narrative of despair, thwarted ambition and shattered dreams. But Mudassar is not like ‘most of us’. Instead of letting go of his dreams, he worked tirelessly towards strengthening his leg and steadily rebuilding his muscle. But even though he still wanted to pursue sports, he was sometimes dragged down by the realisation that despite all the hard work he was willing to put in, he would never be as good as before or even be able to keep up with the students he was used to running circles around. Then one day, as he was surfing channels on TV, he came across a story on the National Paralympics Committee of Pakistan. Aware that this was an opportunity he had to make the most of, he got in touch with the NPC and from then on, there was no looking back.
Established in 1998, the NPC is the Pakistani constituent of the worldwide Paralympic movement and is subject to the controls of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). Headed by NPC President Tariq Mustafa (also the vice president of Asian Paralympics) and Secretary General Imran Shami and with others like Perveen Agha and Coach Akbar Mughal at the helm, the organisation has managed to send a contingent to every Summer Paralympics Games. It’s not been easy. With an all-volunteer staff and no government funding at all, they have nonetheless managed to score some impressive wins — especially when you consider that most, if not all international Paralympic committees are funding by their respective governments. With this in mind, it is nothing short of a miracle that Pakistani Paralympians have secured 55 medals in international events, which include 16 Gold, 19 Silver and 20 Bronze medals as well as one world record. And behind every medal is a tale of triumph in the face of adversity and a determination forged from the strongest steel. A tale like that of Haider Ali.
Haider, who hails from a family of Gujranwala wrestlers, and won a silver medal in the long jump event at the 2008 Beijing Games, suffers from cerebral palsy — a disorder that impairs the brain and the nervous system, affecting movement and functions such as learning, hearing, seeing, and thinking. But, in spite of his condition, Haider’s parents and family encouraged him to take up sports professionally.
With nothing even remotely resembling a proper training venue available to him, Haider himself dug up a pit on an abandoned farm in his town and, after only six months of rigorous practice, went on to represent Pakistan at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics. Without any formal training and experience in international competitions, Haider came painfully close to winning the Gold but narrowly missed it due to technical reasons. His jump of 6.44 metres was a world record and he tied with the gold medal winner, but unfamiliarity with the intricacies of Paralympic scoring meant he had to content himself with a Silver.
The experience left him disappointed and broken at first, but now he is ready to take another shot at the Gold in London. “I cannot bear the pain of Beijing and this time, I will not let fate cheat me out of the Gold in London,” he says. It’s not just about the medal; his fiancé has promised to marry him if he brings home the Gold.
Like Haider, Mudassar’s determination and hard work has also paid off — he won the Gold in the 400m race at the 2010 Asian Paralympics Games in Guangzhou, China. When he’s not pursuing his own sports career, Mudassar has a full-time job at the Faisalabad Post Office through which he supports his family — a wife and three-year-old daughter who suffers from juvenile diabetes. Of the Rs10,000 a month that Mudassar earns from his government job, 70 per cent is immediately used up by his daughter’s treatment and other daily expenses, leaving him with barely anything to spend on his athletic training — not even enough for him to buy new running shoes.
With no support from the government, the NPC was unable to find a sponsor to send Mudassar to the 2011 Australian games. As a result of not being able to participate in these events, his ranking was lowered and he was unable to meet the IPC’s requirements. While hopefuls Haider Ali and Naeem Masih will get to participate in the 2012 games, 32-year-old Mudassar will have to stay behind. “Had there been any kind of support for these athletes, we would have been able to ensure that Mudassar and many more like him would swell the ranks of the Pakistani contingent,” says Beg.
Sharing his disappointment is 20-year-old Pakistani athlete Anila Baig.
Born in Faisalabad to a family with meagre resources, Anila received a devastating blow early in life. “Anila was three years old when her mother observed that she used to walk as if there were thorns in her feet,” says Anila’s father, 68-year-old Izzat Baig. “Her mother carefully checked her feet and legs to find out why she was having difficulty walking. Eventually, we consulted physicians and learnt that her leg had been affected by polio.”
Her shocked parents immediately took Anila for treatment. “The treatment was long and expensive but we succeeded in saving her leg from being completely damaged. However, it became weak and she was declared permanently crippled,” recalls Izzat.
Refusing to let their daughter fall prey to an inferiority complex, they pledged to give her the opportunities that they had given to all their other children. “We enrolled her in a municipal committee school in Gulistan Colony. It was about four kilometres from our house and she would walk to school daily with her elder sister Naureen,” says Izzat, clearly proud of his young daughter’s resilience.
It was when she joined Faisalabad’s MC Girls High School that she asked her father to allow her to participate in sports. Izzat admits he was surprised at his daughter’s request. “How could a girl who was physically challenged participate in school and district-level games? But she was determined and I couldn’t resist the pressure from her anymore, so I let her participate,” he says. “To my amazement, she won a cup for a long race in the inter-school games!”
Buoyed by her success at the tournament, she went on to participate in the Inter-District School Games in 2008. Little had Izzat or Anila known that these games would become the turning point in her life.
It was in these games that Mudassar, Anila’s current running partner and mentor, spotted her and approached her with an offer she couldn’t refuse: inclusion in the Pakistani contingent scheduled to leave for the inaugural session of the Asian Youth Para Games in Japan in 2009.
Anila was excited but since she had never even expected such an offer, she did not know how to bring it up with her father. Hence, she asked Mudassar to get her father’s consent. Mudassar then met Izzat and told him how talented and capable his daughter was and the wonders that she could do with only a little bit of proper training.
Moved by Mudassar’s own story of how his family had supported him, Izzat decided he must let Anila go and live the dream. Anila started preparing, and her biggest confidence boost came from her victory in the trial for under-19 teams in which she stood first.
But before she went to Japan, where she won two Gold medals in javelin and shot put, Anila had an experience that has shaped her life forever — the Beijing Paralympics. She had gone to Beijing feeling sure of herself, but returned with shattered self-confidence. This was her first appearance in an event of this scale and her own inexperience and the magnitude of the occasion daunted her and she ended up under-performing.
She returned home dejected but her loving family only responded with more encouragement. “We were proud that our Anila stood tall as an athlete representing Pakistan in her sports uniform,” says her elder sister Saima.
Anila then decided to focus on the next Paralympics event — London 2012. But life had something else in store for her. Her mother was found to be suffering from heart disease and passed away soon after Anila’s return from Beijing. Meanwhile, Anila’s aging father was struggling to make ends meet by selling papardoms. Izzat had worked as a powerloom manager and made Rs20,000 a month but after 40 years of work, his left leg became paralysed and since then he has had to walk with the aid of a stick. As the family tried to get back on its feet, Anila’s Olympic dreams fell by the wayside. Despite being the youngest of her siblings, none of whom are disabled, Anila has herself become a crutch for her family. “Though we belong to the lower class, God has gifted us with a unique pearl which is shining at the global level,” says her sister Saima proudly.
Anila labours eight hours a day to prepare paapars, which she wraps in small packets for her father to sell in the city but she still manages to find the time to train and exercise twice a day. She goes for a daily three-hour workout to the athletic grounds of the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, paying one hundred rupees per hour for the use of the premises. But even there, support is half-hearted as she can only use the grounds from 1pm to 4pm so as not to ‘disturb’ the activities of university players. She has to travel 11 kilometres to get to the university from her house, but the lack of proper grounds means that she has no choice.
Despite the brave face Anila puts up before her family, she feels a deep sense of betrayal and of being robbed of the appreciation that she feels she should have gotten for her achievements. Although there is no monetary reward attached to medals at these Games, officials and private individuals often announce cash prizes for winners. After the Beijing Games, veteran politician Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain gave 200 dollars to Silver medallists and 100 to Bronze medallists. Later, then prime minister of Pakistan Mohammedmian Soomro announced a grant that was released after two years. Sadly, despite Pakistan’s breaking the world record no major leader has visited or invited any of the players.
“Our government and corporate sector supports sportspersons who bring global recognition for the country. They are paid handsome amounts of money and offered jobs. But I did not get anything from any government agency. I have received no moral or financial support from anyone,” Anila says.
The NPC president and other members say they personally give monthly stipends and monetary rewards to the athletes from their pockets, but also admit that the NGO itself cannot afford to pay an amount big enough to help affect the lifestyles of the Paralympians.
This time around, Anila had hoped for more recognition and possibly some monetary support. “The rewards from the medal will pay for my sister’s wedding. I have to win, I must,” she explains. “I only wished my mother was here with me. I wanted to bring back the Gold for her,” she adds, with a solemn expression on her face.
Tragically, this story does not have a happy ending. At the last minute, and just as this story was about to go into print, the sad news came that Anila lost the last in a series of appeals to the IPC and will not be able to fulfil her dream of participating in the 2012 Paralympics. This was revealed to us in a phone conversation with NPC’s media director Huma Beg, who is currently in London. Expressing her bitter disappointment and sadness at Anila’s exclusion, she said that this uncommon athlete would nonetheless remain a strong contender for the future trainings of NPC and the Pakistan team.
“They [the Paralympians] come from very humble backgrounds, with little hope and encouragement but, they manage to rise and break world records,” says Beg. “This is a moment of reflection on how we still deny so many their true rights and how we close our eyes to the success of so many strugglers. It is our duty to find our own stars and create the environment that breeds more stars.”
A recent partnership between NPC and Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) may pave the way to do just that. This year, this alliance managed to sponsor the athletes’ trip to the London Paralympics just weeks before the deadline. Hopefully this partnership will last for the long run.
“Pakistan’s Paralympians mirror Pakistan itself. Their struggles display the struggles of our country, their resilience reflects the character of our people and their sheer ability to create miracles with minimal resources, and despite their own disabilities, is so reflective of the true spirit of Pakistanis,” says Beg.
Learn more about the Paralympians at https://www.facebook.com/NationalParalympicCommitteePakistan
The Express Tribune would like to thank Serendip Productions for their assistance in bringing these inspiring stories to light through their documentary Impossible.
Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, August 26th, 2012.
As a young boy, Mudassar had one love in his life: sports. Blessed with uncommon talent, he longed for the day when he would play football professionally, winning laurels for his country, his family and himself. An enthusiastic player, he ended up fracturing his leg in a match during his high school days. Unable to find affordable healthcare, the family instead took him to a quack who left him crippled. Only later would they learn that he suffered from polio, which had weakened his leg and caused the fracture.
For most of us, this would be the end of the story. What would follow would be a narrative of despair, thwarted ambition and shattered dreams. But Mudassar is not like ‘most of us’. Instead of letting go of his dreams, he worked tirelessly towards strengthening his leg and steadily rebuilding his muscle. But even though he still wanted to pursue sports, he was sometimes dragged down by the realisation that despite all the hard work he was willing to put in, he would never be as good as before or even be able to keep up with the students he was used to running circles around. Then one day, as he was surfing channels on TV, he came across a story on the National Paralympics Committee of Pakistan. Aware that this was an opportunity he had to make the most of, he got in touch with the NPC and from then on, there was no looking back.
Established in 1998, the NPC is the Pakistani constituent of the worldwide Paralympic movement and is subject to the controls of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). Headed by NPC President Tariq Mustafa (also the vice president of Asian Paralympics) and Secretary General Imran Shami and with others like Perveen Agha and Coach Akbar Mughal at the helm, the organisation has managed to send a contingent to every Summer Paralympics Games. It’s not been easy. With an all-volunteer staff and no government funding at all, they have nonetheless managed to score some impressive wins — especially when you consider that most, if not all international Paralympic committees are funding by their respective governments. With this in mind, it is nothing short of a miracle that Pakistani Paralympians have secured 55 medals in international events, which include 16 Gold, 19 Silver and 20 Bronze medals as well as one world record. And behind every medal is a tale of triumph in the face of adversity and a determination forged from the strongest steel. A tale like that of Haider Ali.
Haider, who hails from a family of Gujranwala wrestlers, and won a silver medal in the long jump event at the 2008 Beijing Games, suffers from cerebral palsy — a disorder that impairs the brain and the nervous system, affecting movement and functions such as learning, hearing, seeing, and thinking. But, in spite of his condition, Haider’s parents and family encouraged him to take up sports professionally.
With nothing even remotely resembling a proper training venue available to him, Haider himself dug up a pit on an abandoned farm in his town and, after only six months of rigorous practice, went on to represent Pakistan at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics. Without any formal training and experience in international competitions, Haider came painfully close to winning the Gold but narrowly missed it due to technical reasons. His jump of 6.44 metres was a world record and he tied with the gold medal winner, but unfamiliarity with the intricacies of Paralympic scoring meant he had to content himself with a Silver.
The experience left him disappointed and broken at first, but now he is ready to take another shot at the Gold in London. “I cannot bear the pain of Beijing and this time, I will not let fate cheat me out of the Gold in London,” he says. It’s not just about the medal; his fiancé has promised to marry him if he brings home the Gold.
Like Haider, Mudassar’s determination and hard work has also paid off — he won the Gold in the 400m race at the 2010 Asian Paralympics Games in Guangzhou, China. When he’s not pursuing his own sports career, Mudassar has a full-time job at the Faisalabad Post Office through which he supports his family — a wife and three-year-old daughter who suffers from juvenile diabetes. Of the Rs10,000 a month that Mudassar earns from his government job, 70 per cent is immediately used up by his daughter’s treatment and other daily expenses, leaving him with barely anything to spend on his athletic training — not even enough for him to buy new running shoes.
With no support from the government, the NPC was unable to find a sponsor to send Mudassar to the 2011 Australian games. As a result of not being able to participate in these events, his ranking was lowered and he was unable to meet the IPC’s requirements. While hopefuls Haider Ali and Naeem Masih will get to participate in the 2012 games, 32-year-old Mudassar will have to stay behind. “Had there been any kind of support for these athletes, we would have been able to ensure that Mudassar and many more like him would swell the ranks of the Pakistani contingent,” says Beg.
Sharing his disappointment is 20-year-old Pakistani athlete Anila Baig.
Born in Faisalabad to a family with meagre resources, Anila received a devastating blow early in life. “Anila was three years old when her mother observed that she used to walk as if there were thorns in her feet,” says Anila’s father, 68-year-old Izzat Baig. “Her mother carefully checked her feet and legs to find out why she was having difficulty walking. Eventually, we consulted physicians and learnt that her leg had been affected by polio.”
Her shocked parents immediately took Anila for treatment. “The treatment was long and expensive but we succeeded in saving her leg from being completely damaged. However, it became weak and she was declared permanently crippled,” recalls Izzat.
Refusing to let their daughter fall prey to an inferiority complex, they pledged to give her the opportunities that they had given to all their other children. “We enrolled her in a municipal committee school in Gulistan Colony. It was about four kilometres from our house and she would walk to school daily with her elder sister Naureen,” says Izzat, clearly proud of his young daughter’s resilience.
It was when she joined Faisalabad’s MC Girls High School that she asked her father to allow her to participate in sports. Izzat admits he was surprised at his daughter’s request. “How could a girl who was physically challenged participate in school and district-level games? But she was determined and I couldn’t resist the pressure from her anymore, so I let her participate,” he says. “To my amazement, she won a cup for a long race in the inter-school games!”
Buoyed by her success at the tournament, she went on to participate in the Inter-District School Games in 2008. Little had Izzat or Anila known that these games would become the turning point in her life.
It was in these games that Mudassar, Anila’s current running partner and mentor, spotted her and approached her with an offer she couldn’t refuse: inclusion in the Pakistani contingent scheduled to leave for the inaugural session of the Asian Youth Para Games in Japan in 2009.
Anila was excited but since she had never even expected such an offer, she did not know how to bring it up with her father. Hence, she asked Mudassar to get her father’s consent. Mudassar then met Izzat and told him how talented and capable his daughter was and the wonders that she could do with only a little bit of proper training.
Moved by Mudassar’s own story of how his family had supported him, Izzat decided he must let Anila go and live the dream. Anila started preparing, and her biggest confidence boost came from her victory in the trial for under-19 teams in which she stood first.
But before she went to Japan, where she won two Gold medals in javelin and shot put, Anila had an experience that has shaped her life forever — the Beijing Paralympics. She had gone to Beijing feeling sure of herself, but returned with shattered self-confidence. This was her first appearance in an event of this scale and her own inexperience and the magnitude of the occasion daunted her and she ended up under-performing.
She returned home dejected but her loving family only responded with more encouragement. “We were proud that our Anila stood tall as an athlete representing Pakistan in her sports uniform,” says her elder sister Saima.
Anila then decided to focus on the next Paralympics event — London 2012. But life had something else in store for her. Her mother was found to be suffering from heart disease and passed away soon after Anila’s return from Beijing. Meanwhile, Anila’s aging father was struggling to make ends meet by selling papardoms. Izzat had worked as a powerloom manager and made Rs20,000 a month but after 40 years of work, his left leg became paralysed and since then he has had to walk with the aid of a stick. As the family tried to get back on its feet, Anila’s Olympic dreams fell by the wayside. Despite being the youngest of her siblings, none of whom are disabled, Anila has herself become a crutch for her family. “Though we belong to the lower class, God has gifted us with a unique pearl which is shining at the global level,” says her sister Saima proudly.
Anila labours eight hours a day to prepare paapars, which she wraps in small packets for her father to sell in the city but she still manages to find the time to train and exercise twice a day. She goes for a daily three-hour workout to the athletic grounds of the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, paying one hundred rupees per hour for the use of the premises. But even there, support is half-hearted as she can only use the grounds from 1pm to 4pm so as not to ‘disturb’ the activities of university players. She has to travel 11 kilometres to get to the university from her house, but the lack of proper grounds means that she has no choice.
Despite the brave face Anila puts up before her family, she feels a deep sense of betrayal and of being robbed of the appreciation that she feels she should have gotten for her achievements. Although there is no monetary reward attached to medals at these Games, officials and private individuals often announce cash prizes for winners. After the Beijing Games, veteran politician Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain gave 200 dollars to Silver medallists and 100 to Bronze medallists. Later, then prime minister of Pakistan Mohammedmian Soomro announced a grant that was released after two years. Sadly, despite Pakistan’s breaking the world record no major leader has visited or invited any of the players.
“Our government and corporate sector supports sportspersons who bring global recognition for the country. They are paid handsome amounts of money and offered jobs. But I did not get anything from any government agency. I have received no moral or financial support from anyone,” Anila says.
The NPC president and other members say they personally give monthly stipends and monetary rewards to the athletes from their pockets, but also admit that the NGO itself cannot afford to pay an amount big enough to help affect the lifestyles of the Paralympians.
This time around, Anila had hoped for more recognition and possibly some monetary support. “The rewards from the medal will pay for my sister’s wedding. I have to win, I must,” she explains. “I only wished my mother was here with me. I wanted to bring back the Gold for her,” she adds, with a solemn expression on her face.
Tragically, this story does not have a happy ending. At the last minute, and just as this story was about to go into print, the sad news came that Anila lost the last in a series of appeals to the IPC and will not be able to fulfil her dream of participating in the 2012 Paralympics. This was revealed to us in a phone conversation with NPC’s media director Huma Beg, who is currently in London. Expressing her bitter disappointment and sadness at Anila’s exclusion, she said that this uncommon athlete would nonetheless remain a strong contender for the future trainings of NPC and the Pakistan team.
“They [the Paralympians] come from very humble backgrounds, with little hope and encouragement but, they manage to rise and break world records,” says Beg. “This is a moment of reflection on how we still deny so many their true rights and how we close our eyes to the success of so many strugglers. It is our duty to find our own stars and create the environment that breeds more stars.”
A recent partnership between NPC and Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) may pave the way to do just that. This year, this alliance managed to sponsor the athletes’ trip to the London Paralympics just weeks before the deadline. Hopefully this partnership will last for the long run.
“Pakistan’s Paralympians mirror Pakistan itself. Their struggles display the struggles of our country, their resilience reflects the character of our people and their sheer ability to create miracles with minimal resources, and despite their own disabilities, is so reflective of the true spirit of Pakistanis,” says Beg.
Learn more about the Paralympians at https://www.facebook.com/NationalParalympicCommitteePakistan
The Express Tribune would like to thank Serendip Productions for their assistance in bringing these inspiring stories to light through their documentary Impossible.
Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, August 26th, 2012.