With a 52.54-meter throw on Friday, Pakistan’s Haider Ali earned bronze in the Men’s Discus Throw F37, earning his fourth Paralympic medal.
Tolibboy Yuldashev of Uzbekistan won the gold medal with a tremendous throw of 57.28 meters, setting a personal record on his sixth try. Jesse Zesseu of Canada won silver with a throw of 53.24 meters.
After the race, a delighted Ali was seen hugging the other medallists and competitors as he completed his victory lap.
With a strong 52.28-meter throw, which was his best of the season since the Paralympics, which was his first competition of the year, Ali led the field on the first try.
But in the third round, Zesseu surpassed Ali with a throw of 52.81 meters, taking the lead.
After that, Yuldashev stole the show from both with a massive 53.48-meter throw on his fourth try.
However, the Uzbek surprised both the audience and himself by throwing a massive 56.03 meters on his fifth try, which was a new personal best.
After six tries, the 21-year-old set a staggering personal record of 57.28 meters, proving he wasn’t done for the day.
Yuldashev’s gold comes after last week’s bronze in the Men’s Shot Put F37.
In his sixth effort, Ali improved on his season-best established in the second throw, throwing 52.54 meters after a run of foul throws in his second, third, fourth, and fifth tries.
With his fifth Paralympic Games in Paris, the 39-year-old now has two bronze, one silver, and one gold medal overall from the Paralympics. The only medals Pakistan has ever won at the Games are Ali’s medals.
His first came in the men’s long jump F37/38 division at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where he jumped 6.44 meters for silver.
In the men’s T37 long jump, he won bronze at the Rio 2016 Olympics. Similar to Paris, he was the only representative of the nation and flag bearer during the opening ceremony.
In the Men’s Discus Throw F37 at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Ali finally found success.
In an X statement announcing Ali’s victory, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said, “Your courage and determination are a source of inspiration for the entire nation.”
