Haider Ali Height, Age, Family, Biography

Some Lesser Known Facts About Haider Ali

• Haider Ali belongs to the landowning family of Gujranwala, Pakistan. He was diagnosed with a movement disorder named ‘Cerebral Palsy’ at birth which resulted in the right side of his body being weaker than the left. His condition is a group of permanent movement disorders that can impact a person’s coordination which leads to compromised muscle strength.

• Haider Ali’s right leg is one inch shorter and two inches thinner than his left leg.

• Haider Ali and his family shifted from their town Khiali Shahpur to Gujranwala when he was just 15 years old and his family opened a plastics factory to start their own earning. He comes from a family of wrestlers and always wanted to be an athlete.

• He has a rough childhood due to his physical condition. Haider Ali started taking sports seriously at the age of 18 when he enrolled in college. He was quoted saying in an interview that
  

  My childhood was very tough, and it was not easy to face challenges related to CP that the world did not understand or know about. When I was 18, I started taking sports more seriously and things began to change for me.”

• Initially before starting college, Haider used to feel very weak and never played sports. However, when he started playing, he realised that sports gave him a lot of confidence and also made him disciplined. He got interested in the long jump and decided to pursue a career in the same.

• In his hometown, Haider Ali did not have access to any professional coaching or facilities that he needed to be a member of the National Paralympics Men’s Long Jump team. He used to watch training videos on YouTube to help himself.

• Haider Ali also started bunking his classes to attend training sessions for the long jump and discus throw sessions.

• After finishing his studies in 2005, Haider Ali saw a news report on the Paralympics and contacted the authorities in Pakistan.

• In January 2006, Haider Ali was invited for the trials for the Pakistan national Para athletics team which were held in Islamabad. He cleared the trials and was selected for the team.

• He joined the training program offered by Pakistan’s National Paralympics Committee and he was set up with a professional coach named Akbar Ali Mughal who he met for the first time at the Water and Power Development Authority [WAPDA] while he was working there.
  

  Haider Ali (right) with his coach Akbar Ali Mughal

• His family has been his biggest support and he was the only person amongst his siblings who chose to pursue a career in sports. Haider Ali was quoted saying in an interview that
  

  They never stopped me from anything, neither did they pressure me to leave sports behind to study or follow a career that they wanted for me.”

• In 2006, Haider Ali won four medals including gold in the men’s long jump F37 category at the 2006 Far East and South Pacific Games for the Disabled (FESPIC) which were held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It was Haider’s international debut.

• In 2008, he participated in the 13th Summer Paralympic Games which took place in Beijing, China. He set a new world record with his long jump F37/38 of 6.44 meters at the games and won Pakistan’s first-ever Paralympic Games medal which was a silver.

• Haider lost out to Tunisia’s Farhat Chida on a tie-break. Haider’s achievements were Pakistan’s first Paralympic medal and was also Pakistan’s first silver medal at the Paralympics in 2008.

• Haider also participated in three other events at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Games. He was ranked ninth among nine runners in the T-38 Category.

• Haider Ali used to represent the Punjab Education Board (Pakistan) and later represented the Water and Power Development Authority [WAPDA] team of Pakistan.

• Haider Ali came in the 5th position in the 200 meters long jump against 7 runners and he took part in the Discus Throw F37/38 event in the 2008 Summer Paralympics Games where he was close to winning a bronze medal but his points tally of 986 fell just seven short of a Chinese player.

• In 2010, Haider Ali took part in the First Asian Para Games which were held in Guangzhou, China. He won a gold medal in the F38 Long jump event and a bronze medal in the T-38 100m.

• Haider Ali suffered from a hamstring injury at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London.

• A recurring hamstring injury forced Haider Ali to switch his focus from the long jump to the discus throw.

• In 2016, he participated in the 15th Summer Paralympics Games which were held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Haider won a bronze medal in the T37 long jump event. It was Pakistan’s first-ever bronze medal at the Paralympics.

• In the same year, Haider Ali was the flag bearer for Pakistan during the opening ceremony of the Rio Paralympics.

• In 2019, Haider Ali took part in the Men’s discus throw F37 at the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships which was held in Dubai. He won the silver medal in the finals. He became the first Pakistani Para athlete to win a medal at the World Para Athletics Championships.
  

  Haider Ali (centre) posing with his medal at the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships in Dubai

• In 2020, Haider Ali took part in the discus throw event at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games which was held in 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. He achieved a 55.26-metre throw in the ‘discus throw to win F37 event’ and won the gold in the tournament finals. Post-winning, he was quoted saying in an interview that
  

  I hope to be a role model for other people that have a disability [and who] don’t compete in sports to take part in para-sports.”

  

  Haider Ali posing with his gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games

• Pakistan’s Punjab Sports Minister Rai Taimoor Khan Bhatti announced a reward of Rs 2.5 million for Haider Ali for winning a gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics Games.
  

  Haider Ali (third from right) receiving the cash award of 25 lakh from Pakistan’s Punjab Sports Minister Rai Taimoor Khan Bhatti after Haider won the gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics Games

• In 2024, Haider Ali was the sole representative of Pakistan at the Paralympic Games in Paris and it was Haider’s fifth appearance at the Paralympic Games.

• Haider Ali was Pakistan’s flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris.
  

  Haider Ali at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paralympics Games in Paris as the flag bearer of Pakistan

• He used to work as a line superintendent at the Water and Power Development Authority [WAPDA] in Pakistan.

• Haider Ali considers the Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt his hero in life and he has posters of him all around his house.

• Haider Ali considers the National Paralympic Committee of Pakistan’s secretary Imran Jamil Shami his biggest inspiration in sports who helped him pursue a career in the sports.