- Athletes claim three gold, seven silver, six bronze medals; Afridi announces cash awards, calls medalists heroes
The 2017 Special Olympics World Winter Games concluded in Austria on Saturday, with the Pakistan contingent returning home with an impressive tally of 16 medals.
Over 3,000 Special Olympics athletes from 110 countries participated in the 2017 Winter Games which ended with a colourful ceremony here in this Austrian city. The Pakistani athletes claimed three gold, seven silver and six bronze medals at the event.
The women’s snowshoeing team won gold in the relay race, covering the distance in one minute and 54 seconds. The men’s team won a silver medal in the same race. Huzaifa Qazi claimed the gold in the 200-metre snowshoe race, whereas Muhammad Hamza Aslam won bronze in the men’s 200-metre race.
In addition, Farah Ahsan won a bronze medal in the 200-metre race. Sabahat Tariq claimed the gold medal in the women’s 100-metre sprint, while Qazi and Pervaiz Ahmad took home silver in the men’s 100-metre sprint.
Fatima Amir and Muhammad Abdullah respectively won silver and copper medals in taekwondo. Pakistan delegation leader Aneesur Rehman told media that the athletes were returning to their country with pleasant memories. He said the Winter World Games had given a new enthusiasm to the Pakistani special athletes.
Peshawar Zalmi Foundation Chief Executive Officer Javed Afridi announced a cash award for Pakistanis who won medals at the Special Olympics World Winter Games. In a tweet, he said that the foundation would give away a prize of Rs100,000 to each medalist. He termed the medalists national heroes.
