Safeer Abid, a Pakistani athlete, won the gold medal in the 10 km time-trial race of the cycling event at the 16th Special Olympics World Games. These games are being held in Berlin, Germany, from June 19 to 24, 2022.
The Special Olympics World Games are an international sporting event for participants with intellectual disabilities, organized by the Special Olympics organization, and recognized by the International Olympic Committee. These games feature more than a week of competitions involving thousands of athletes from over 100 countries.
Safeer Abid completed the 10 km distance in 23 minutes and 02.02 seconds, beating his competitors from other countries. He is one of the 4,000 athletes who are celebrating a festival of encounters in the German capital and competing in 20 sports.
Safeer Abid, who belongs to Karachi, said that this was his first time participating in the World Games. And for this, he had been preparing for the last two years. He expressed his passion and determination to win more medals for Pakistan in future international events.
Pakistan has so far won 10 gold medals in the Special Olympics World Games. In addition to Safeer Abid’s victory, Madeeha Tahir and Amina Arshad also won silver and bronze medals respectively in the 500m time trial race of the cycling event.
In other events, Pakistan’s futsal team won the silver medal after losing to Oman by 6-3 goals in the final. Pakistan also secured fourth position in women’s doubles, men’s singles, and unified men’s doubles of the tennis event. In the Bocce team event, Pakistan’s athletes Mahnoor, Simran Mahesh Lal, Jamilur Rahman, and Farhan Aslam won the silver medal after defeating Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Farhan Aslam and Mahnoor also won bronze medals in men’s singles and women’s singles respectively. The Special Olympics National Games are an important milestone on the way to the Special Olympics World Games Berlin 2023, which will be the world’s largest inclusive sports event with 7,000 athletes and Unified Partners from approximately 170 countries.