KARACHI, July 1: Pakistan ended up with a staggering total of 88 medals in the Special Olympics held in Dublin (Ireland).

Pakistan contingent which returned on Tuesday from Dublin was accorded a warm welcome on arrival at Quaid-i-Azam International Airport.

Pakistan’s 60-member contingent comprising 34 boys and 26 girls got 40 gold, 28 silver and 20 bronze medal picked from across Pakistan took part in eight disciplines including basketball, football, aquatics, tennis, athletics, badminton, table tennis and bocce. The bocce contingent, raked in, the most medals a total of 21, with Umair Farooqi winning gold, silver and bronze medals respectively in three separate events. Bocce, a relevantly new discipline in the special Olympics was devised to include lower ability athletes.

In the athletics category, the team also brought in a sizable number of medals, most of them gold. Twelve year-old Reema Akram from Jhang won three golds.

In aquatics, badminton and tennis both male and female athletes fared well, but the girls scored over the boys, with Batool Zohair in Swimmin g, Hafiza Bano in Badminton and Aisha Nadeem in Tennis each bringing in gold, two each in the case of Batool Zohari and Hafiza Bano.

The highlights of the event were the basketball matches with which the competition ended In the final the girls walked away with the silver, but the boys took the gold.

It had been a hard fight to get the finals, and it took particular grit to beat the home team, Ireland in the final.

The stars of the basketball show were Naila Ashraf Sharmeen Akber and Nazia Majeed in the girls team, and Awais Ashraf and Tauheed Aziz in the boys.—APP