Hong Kong: Pakistani athlete, prominent entrepreneur and Pakistan Army veteran Ajmal Samuel recently created history with a courageous and inspiring achievement by becoming the first qualified para (adaptive) paragliding pilot in Hong Kong and Asia.
According to the handout, Ajmal, a former national level rower from Hong Kong, completed rigorous training in the South African wilderness located in the Western Cape region.
Despite suffering a spinal injury while serving as a young Army officer in 1987, he set out on a trip to South Africa in February 2024 with one goal: to fulfill his dream of flying again.
With a passion for adventure and a determined spirit, Ajmal trained under the expert guidance of renowned Cape Town-based paragliding instructor Matthew Van Zyl.
In addition to being a certified paragliding instructor, Van Zyl also holds certification in training for the disabled. Ajmal's training under Matthew's guidance will be the subject of a special documentary filmed during his intensive training program and will be released later this year. This marks an important milestone not only for Ajmal himself, but also for the adaptive paragliding community.
Ajmal is not only Matthew's first adaptive paragliding student, but also the first disabled person to be fully qualified as a solo paragliding pilot on both the African and Asian continents. After earning her pilot's license and the documentary's dramatic finale, Ajmal has now taken on the challenge of jumping off Africa's 5,895m high Mount Kilimanjaro. This makes him the first disabled pilot to achieve a world record.
Before his injury, Ajmal was a qualified fixed-wing glider pilot during his military service. Despite the challenges he faced, his passion for flying never waned. Becoming a qualified adaptive paragliding pilot is a lifelong dream come true for Ajmal, who has shown remarkable resilience and determination throughout his journey.
“I have always wanted to get involved in air sports in Hong Kong and Asia and introduce it to the local disabled community, but this has been hindered by the lack of facilities and awareness in the region,” Ajmal explained. “I hope my documentary, and how disabled people living in Hong Kong set new world records in extreme sports such as paragliding, will help educate and inspire the disabled community in Asia to see aviation as a sport they can pursue. “Please participate as much as able-bodied people.”
Ajmal's achievements inspire individuals around the world by demonstrating the power of perseverance and the triumph of the human spirit over adversity. His historic achievements highlight the possibilities that exist for people with disabilities in the realm of extreme adventure sports.
A car accident while serving in the Pakistan Army left him paralyzed from the waist down at the age of 21. Ajmal believed this was the end of his active, sporting lifestyle.
While he was confined to a wheelchair and struggling to be optimistic about the future, the driving force that kept him from giving up was the support and love of his family, friends, and doctors. With his hard work and determination, he began to reorganize his life.
Firstly, professionally, Ajmal can now take pride in the fact that he is the founder and CEO of his own financial technology company, OCTO3 Group Holdings Limited, a Hong Kong-based financial technology and infrastructure provider specializing in payment and clearinghouse systems.
Since then, he has focused on his fitness and health to the point where he calls himself a national-level endurance athlete, with a particular focus on rowing, hand cycling, and triathlon.
Ajmal is a role model who gives others confidence that not even a wheelchair can stop them from pursuing their dreams, whether professional or personal.