Haider Ali secured the silver medal in the men's F37 discus throw on 21 October at the Asian Para Games in Nagoya, Japan. Kudratillokhon Marufkhujaev of Uzbekistan claimed the gold medal by recording a throw of 57.39 metres.
The Uzbek athlete established a new Asian Para Games record during the competition. Ali finished the competition with a throw of 57.20 metres, placing him just 19 centimetres behind the winner.
Haney of India took the bronze medal with a throw of 57.04 metres, which represented a personal best for the Indian competitor. The Indian athlete trailed Ali by 16 centimetres in the final standings.
Tolibboy Yuldashev of Uzbekistan finished in fourth place with 55.39 metres, while Yamato Shimbo of Japan took fifth with 51.31 metres. Asilbek Mukimov of Uzbekistan placed sixth with 49.90 metres, and Thanaphon Kongsao of Thailand finished seventh with 36.34 metres.
The current world record for the F37 men's discus is 59.75 metres, set by Khusniddin Norbekov of Uzbekistan at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. Ali, who was born in Gujranwala, has a distinguished career including a gold medal in the discus throw at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games.
The 41-year-old athlete also won silver in the long jump at Beijing 2008, bronze in the long jump at Rio 2016, and bronze in the discus throw at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. He is a four-time Asian Para Games gold medallist and has also earned two bronze medals at the same regional competition.
Ali said, "Thanks God I had worked hard and was rewarded." He added, "I have trained for one year as it was a big event."
