Pakistan bags 5 gold medals in Special Games
Athlete Baig laments lack of facilities for practicing snowshoeing.
Baig said Pakistani and Indian athletes always seem to gel well. Photo: EXPRESS MUHAMMAD JAVAID
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan returned home with five gold, one silver and two bronze medals from the Special World Winter Games in Pyeongchang, Korea.
A total of 103 special athletes from all over the world participated in the Winter Olympics in Korea where Muhammad Raees from Murree won a gold medal in snowshoeing 4x100-m relay, silver in 100-m and bronze in 200-m.
Meanwhile, M Rahim Ullah Baig from Gilgit-Baltistan won a gold medal in snowshoeing 4x100-m Relay and in the 800 M event as well. Arslan Ali from Muree claimed gold in snowshoeing 4x100-m relay and a bronze in 200-m, while Onaid Ullah Jadoon from Abbottabad also earned a gold medal in snowshoeing 4x100-m relay.
“He was always special and always wanted to reach great heights,” Baig’s father Shukur Ullah Baig told The Express Tribune. “Hundreds of people in the village today are eagerly waiting to welcome him.”
The 19-year-old athlete said there are no facilities for people in his area to practice or train; he trains himself by running on rocky tracks which is a risk to his life.
“Although we live in difficult circumstances, we get the reward when we travel abroad. People meet us with such warmth and that makes my day.”
Head coach Arshad Javaid said that grassroot selection and regular trainings can help improve his skills and dig up more talent.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 9th, 2013.
Pakistan returned home with five gold, one silver and two bronze medals from the Special World Winter Games in Pyeongchang, Korea.
A total of 103 special athletes from all over the world participated in the Winter Olympics in Korea where Muhammad Raees from Murree won a gold medal in snowshoeing 4x100-m relay, silver in 100-m and bronze in 200-m.
Meanwhile, M Rahim Ullah Baig from Gilgit-Baltistan won a gold medal in snowshoeing 4x100-m Relay and in the 800 M event as well. Arslan Ali from Muree claimed gold in snowshoeing 4x100-m relay and a bronze in 200-m, while Onaid Ullah Jadoon from Abbottabad also earned a gold medal in snowshoeing 4x100-m relay.
“He was always special and always wanted to reach great heights,” Baig’s father Shukur Ullah Baig told The Express Tribune. “Hundreds of people in the village today are eagerly waiting to welcome him.”
The 19-year-old athlete said there are no facilities for people in his area to practice or train; he trains himself by running on rocky tracks which is a risk to his life.
“Although we live in difficult circumstances, we get the reward when we travel abroad. People meet us with such warmth and that makes my day.”
Head coach Arshad Javaid said that grassroot selection and regular trainings can help improve his skills and dig up more talent.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 9th, 2013.