Pakistan WAPDA have been crowned national champions of the track and field, winning the 54th National Athletics Championship in Karachi with a commanding haul of 27 gold medals. The four-day championship, held at the tartan track of NED University from October 22 to 25, ended with WAPDA on top of both the men’s and women’s standings, ahead of Pakistan Navy, who finished second with nine gold medals, and the Higher Education Commission (HEC), third with eight.
The event was organised by the Sindh Athletics Association under the supervision of the Athletics Federation of Pakistan, with the support of sponsor Lakh Sahaita, and it brought together the country’s best departmental and provincial teams. WAPDA’s men collected 17 gold, five silver and five bronze medals, while their women’s squad added 10 gold, 11 silver and six bronze in a show of depth across almost every discipline.
A national record headlines the National Athletics Championship finals
The final day produced the championship’s standout moment. WAPDA’s Maria Bibi won the women’s 5,000 metres in 19 minutes and 2.00 seconds, setting a new national record and breaking the mark of 19:04.05 that Olympian Rabia Ashiq had held since 2012. Her teammate Nazia Ehsan took silver in 19:49.50 and HEC’s Goonish Batool bronze in 20:10.80.
The last day also brought gold for WAPDA in the men’s 200 metres, where Shajar Abbas clocked 20.75 seconds ahead of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Attaullah (20.90) and HEC’s Haseeb Ahmed (21.40). HEC’s Khola Umar Khan won the women’s 200 metres in 24.80 seconds. WAPDA’s Shahsawar took the men’s 800 metres in 1:52.01, Sohail Amir the men’s 5,000 metres in 15:16.20, Usman Zafar the triple jump with 15.39 metres and Dawood the hammer throw with 52.45 metres, while Amina cleared 2.85 metres to win the women’s pole vault. Pakistan Navy won the men’s 4×100 metres relay in 42.00 seconds, WAPDA answered with the women’s relay title in 48.63 seconds, and the championship closed with WAPDA’s men winning the 4×400 metres relay in 3:15.90.
Fastest man and fastest woman in Pakistan
The National Athletics Championship opened on Thursday with the races everyone waits for. WAPDA’s Shajar Abbas won the men’s 100 metres in 10.20 seconds to be crowned Pakistan’s fastest man, with Attaullah taking silver and Haseeb Ahmed bronze. In the women’s 100 metres, WAPDA’s Faiqa Riyaz struck gold in 11.60 seconds, ahead of HEC’s Khola Umar and Sindh’s Iqra Riyaz. Shajar finished the championship with three gold medals, while the outstanding individual of the meet was Pakistan Navy’s Amtil Rehman, who collected four gold medals. In the women’s team standings, HEC finished second with six gold, seven silver and nine bronze medals and 260 points, Sindh were third and Pakistan Navy fourth.
No Arshad Nadeem, but WAPDA still strike javelin gold
The one disappointment of the week was the absence of Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem, who withdrew from the javelin throw because of illness. Even without their superstar, WAPDA took the title: Muhammad Yasir won the men’s javelin with a throw of 74.63 metres at the Navy Sports Complex in Karsaz, ahead of Pakistan Navy’s Abdul Qadeer Khan (67.25) and HEC’s Muhammad Bilal (66.69). WAPDA’s Fatima Hussain completed a javelin double by winning the women’s event with 41.76 metres.
It has been a rich week for Pakistani sport, from the athletics track in Karachi to the cricket field in Lahore, where, as our reports show, Pakistan beat Sri Lanka in the tri-series opener and Arafat Minhas starred as Pakistan beat England by 87 runs, while the junior hockey team claimed silver in our report on the Sultan of Johor Cup final. For WAPDA, though, the week belonged to their athletes: 27 gold medals, a national record and the national title, all heading back to the trophy cabinet.
Sources
- Sports Bulletin
- The News
- The News (opening day)
- Photo: X.com@wapda_pr
Umar is an engineer by profession and a passionate writer by passion. He has a deep interest in sharing good news related to Pakistan and has been working hard to promote the positive image of his homeland. Umar has written numerous articles on various topics related to Pakistan, such as technology, sports, culture, and economy.