Racing through: Special Olympians make the country proud
Cyclists, athletes both impress as 10 more medals are added to the tally.
Ramail Irshad can be seen competing for the 200m race, where the Pakistani athlete finished with an impressive time of 26.26 seconds to claim gold. PHOTO COURTESY: SOP
KARACHI:
Pakistan’s Special Olympics contingent continues to make the country proud, as they added another 10 medals — five gold, one silver, four bronze — on July 30 at the Special Olympics World Games 2015 in Los Angeles.
The country’s cyclists were especially impressive as they claimed one gold and two bronze. Uzma Yousuf, who had finished eighth in her first race, came back impressively to win the gold in the 1km time trial Division 5 with a time of two minutes and 37.55 seconds.
Another cyclist, Mehmoona Hussain, who won silver in her first race, claimed bronze in the 1km time trial Division 3 with a time of two minutes and 29.24 seconds, while Khadija Irfan also won bronze in Division 5 of the same category, finishing in two minutes and 57.11 seconds.
Khadija, who suffers from an autistic disorder, is the only daughter of Muhammad Irfan, a sepoy of the Pakistan Rangers, and became interested in cycling from a school in Karachi.
“Khadija has always worked hard to become a cyclist,” said her mother, Rukhsana Kausar. “She used to train at her school and then also near our house; nothing could have stopped her from participating in and winning medals at the Special Olympics.”
Kausar was also full of praise for the coaches that helped hone her daughter’s skills. “These medals are the result of the coaches’ efforts,” said Kausar. “I don’t have any other children. She is everything to me.”
The athletes, determined not to be overshadowed by the cyclists, also won two medals. Ramail Irshad won gold in the 200m Division 46, finishing with an impressive time of 26.26 seconds, while Marvi Azhar won bronze in the 400m Division 3 by finishing in one minute and 25.16 seconds.
Table tennis players also won two medals, as Muhammad Arham won gold by defeating Senegal’s Mouhamaduo Diouf 3-0 in the final of the Table Tennis Singles division MS16-21D1, while Ruqia Latif claimed bronze after she defeated Chinese Ying Wang 3-0 in the third place match of division FS10-15D2.
Jahanzaib Iqbal, who suffers from intellectual deficiency, also won gold in Badminton Singles division MSG17, defeating Isle of Man’s Peter Taylor 2-0 in the final, while Ahsan Anwar and Muhammad Qayyum won silver medals at the Tennis Doubles division DOP.
Jahanzaib’s parents, understandably, also expressed the pride they are feeling for their son but bemoaned the fact that they could not afford to travel to Los Angeles to see him perform. “We are really happy to hear that our son won a gold medal,” said Jahanzaib’s father, Junaid Iqbal. “We are not wealthy enough to go watch our son in Los Angeles. I don’t know much about Badminton; Jahanzaib used to go train by himself as he was passionate about the sport.”
Meanwhile, Pakistan swimmer Aqsa Ahmed Janjua, who had won silver in her first race, claimed gold in the 50m Backstroke division F2 with a time of 57.93 seconds.
Aqsa, who is deaf and mute and also suffers from problems of intellect, has demonstrated precocious talent for a while now; claiming nine gold medals back home in inter-school competitions.
Her mother was happy with the way her daughter has helped the country. “She [Aqsa] has made all of us so proud by helping the country,” said her mother, Shazia Waseem. “I wanted to go along with her as this is the highlight of her life but I was a bit late to apply for a visa and couldn’t go along with her. But I knew I could trust the coaches, especially Aqsa’s coach Fahad Alvi, to motivate her and they have clearly succeeded in doing so.”
Published in The Express Tribune, July 31st, 2015.
Pakistan’s Special Olympics contingent continues to make the country proud, as they added another 10 medals — five gold, one silver, four bronze — on July 30 at the Special Olympics World Games 2015 in Los Angeles.
The country’s cyclists were especially impressive as they claimed one gold and two bronze. Uzma Yousuf, who had finished eighth in her first race, came back impressively to win the gold in the 1km time trial Division 5 with a time of two minutes and 37.55 seconds.
Another cyclist, Mehmoona Hussain, who won silver in her first race, claimed bronze in the 1km time trial Division 3 with a time of two minutes and 29.24 seconds, while Khadija Irfan also won bronze in Division 5 of the same category, finishing in two minutes and 57.11 seconds.
Khadija, who suffers from an autistic disorder, is the only daughter of Muhammad Irfan, a sepoy of the Pakistan Rangers, and became interested in cycling from a school in Karachi.
“Khadija has always worked hard to become a cyclist,” said her mother, Rukhsana Kausar. “She used to train at her school and then also near our house; nothing could have stopped her from participating in and winning medals at the Special Olympics.”
Kausar was also full of praise for the coaches that helped hone her daughter’s skills. “These medals are the result of the coaches’ efforts,” said Kausar. “I don’t have any other children. She is everything to me.”
The athletes, determined not to be overshadowed by the cyclists, also won two medals. Ramail Irshad won gold in the 200m Division 46, finishing with an impressive time of 26.26 seconds, while Marvi Azhar won bronze in the 400m Division 3 by finishing in one minute and 25.16 seconds.
Table tennis players also won two medals, as Muhammad Arham won gold by defeating Senegal’s Mouhamaduo Diouf 3-0 in the final of the Table Tennis Singles division MS16-21D1, while Ruqia Latif claimed bronze after she defeated Chinese Ying Wang 3-0 in the third place match of division FS10-15D2.
Jahanzaib Iqbal, who suffers from intellectual deficiency, also won gold in Badminton Singles division MSG17, defeating Isle of Man’s Peter Taylor 2-0 in the final, while Ahsan Anwar and Muhammad Qayyum won silver medals at the Tennis Doubles division DOP.
Jahanzaib’s parents, understandably, also expressed the pride they are feeling for their son but bemoaned the fact that they could not afford to travel to Los Angeles to see him perform. “We are really happy to hear that our son won a gold medal,” said Jahanzaib’s father, Junaid Iqbal. “We are not wealthy enough to go watch our son in Los Angeles. I don’t know much about Badminton; Jahanzaib used to go train by himself as he was passionate about the sport.”
Meanwhile, Pakistan swimmer Aqsa Ahmed Janjua, who had won silver in her first race, claimed gold in the 50m Backstroke division F2 with a time of 57.93 seconds.
Aqsa, who is deaf and mute and also suffers from problems of intellect, has demonstrated precocious talent for a while now; claiming nine gold medals back home in inter-school competitions.
Her mother was happy with the way her daughter has helped the country. “She [Aqsa] has made all of us so proud by helping the country,” said her mother, Shazia Waseem. “I wanted to go along with her as this is the highlight of her life but I was a bit late to apply for a visa and couldn’t go along with her. But I knew I could trust the coaches, especially Aqsa’s coach Fahad Alvi, to motivate her and they have clearly succeeded in doing so.”
Published in The Express Tribune, July 31st, 2015.