Army chief meets Pakistan’s Special Olympics team

General Raheel says Pakistani youth is full of talent and the entire nation is proud of its future heroes

RAWALPINDI: Army chief General Raheel Sharif met on Wednesday Pakistan's eight-member team which participated in the Special Olympics in Los Angeles.

"COAS while appreciating the performance of Pakistani players in Special Olympics said our youth is full of talent and the entire nation is proud of its future heroes who took this daunting challenge and overcame all barriers to keep the green flag high due to their outstanding performance and commitment in different sports events," an Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement read.

PHOTO: ATIQUE REHMAN

Pakistan’s Special Olympics contingent bagged a total of 34 medals — 13 gold, 11 silver, 10 bronze — in eight disciplines at the Summer Special Olympics World Games 2015 .

Read: Special Olympics: Swabi’s pride bags bronze medal in USA

The cyclists were the most impressive of the lot, winning 11 medals in total. Uzma Yousuf and Tauseef Hassan secured two gold medals each, in Time Trial and Road Race respectively, and one gold each was secured by Sumbal Yousuf and Salman Siddiqui in the Time Trial event. Meanwhile, Mehmoona Hussain and Khadija Irfan won a silver and bronze each in the same event, and Salman also secured a bronze in Time Trial.

Read: Touseef wins cycling gold for Pakistan at Special Olympics

A total of around 6,500 athletes from 177 countries participated in the Special Olympics held in Los Angeles in July.