Haider Ali (born in Pakistan on December 12, 1984) is an all-around Pakistani athlete [1] who created history in 2008 Summer Paralympics; by winning a silver medal for his country, which had never won a medal in Paralympic games before.
Haider, who suffers from Cerebral Palsy, competed against 4,200 athletes from as many as 148 nations, in the thirteenth Paralympics held at Beijing in China, in 2008. He took part in T-38 Category men’s long jump and covered a distance of 6.44 meters, winning a silver medal.[2] A Tunisian athlete, Farhat Chida, who covered the same distance, won a gold medal because he made six successful jumps overall, whereas Haider’s second and fifth jumps were rejected but he managed to equal Chida in his last attempt.
Both Haider and Farhat Chida scored a total of 1104 points each through their 6.44 meter jump, which is also a new world record in the games for people with disabilities.[3]
In addition to T-38 Category, Haider also participated in three other events. In the 100 meter T38 sprint he was ranked ninth among nine runners, in the 200 meters against 7 runners he came in fifth and in the Discus Throw F37/38, where he was close to winning a bronze medal but his points tally of 986 fell just seven short of Dong Xia of China, who compiled 1003 points and took third place.[4]
Previously, Haider Ali has won a gold medal for Pakistan in the long jump event at the KL’06 FESPIC Games held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in November–December 2006.
Overall Medal Standings on Official Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games Website, [1]