WAPDA Wins 54th National Athletics Championship as Maria Bibi Sets Record

What Happened

The 54th National Athletics Championship, supported by Lok Sahaita, was held at the NED University Athletics Track and PNS Karsaz in Karachi [1, 2, 3]. The event was organized by the Sindh Athletics Association under the supervision of the Athletics Federation of Pakistan [2, 3].

Pakistan WAPDA emerged as the overall champion, winning 27 gold medals in total [2, 3]. This total included 17 gold medals in men’s events and 10 gold medals in women’s competitions [2]. The Pakistan Navy finished as the runner-up with nine gold medals [2, 3], while the Higher Education Commission (HEC) secured third place with eight gold medals [2, 3].

Key individual performances included:

• Maria Bibi (WAPDA) set a new national record in the women’s 5,000 metres with a time of 19:02.00, surpassing the 19:04.05 record set by Olympian Rabia Ashiq in 2012 [2, 3].
• Nazia Ehsan (WAPDA) took silver in the women’s 5,000m with 19:49.50, while Goonish Batool (HEC) took bronze in 20:10.80 [2, 3].
• Shajar Abbas (WAPDA) won the men’s 200m in 20.75 seconds, ahead of Attaullah (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) at 20.90 and Haseeb Ahmed (HEC) at 21.40 [3].
• Khaula Umar Khan (HEC) won the women’s 200m in 24.80 seconds, followed by Iqra Riaz (Sindh) in second and Malaika Shehzadi (WAPDA) in third [3].
• Usman Ghani (Navy) won the men’s high jump with a height of 1.96 metres [3].
• Sohail Amir (WAPDA) won the men’s 5,000m in 15:16.20 [3].
• Amtil Rehman (Navy) won four gold medals during the championship [2, 3].
• Shajar Abbas (WAPDA) collected three gold medals [3].
• WAPDA won the women’s 4x100m relay in 48.63 seconds [3].
• Navy won the men’s 4x100m relay in 42.00 seconds [3].
• WAPDA also won gold in the men’s 4x400m relay, the men’s triple jump, and the hammer throw [2, 3].

Salma Afridi, representing HEC and hailing from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, won one gold and two silver medals [1]. She is currently a Master’s degree student in Sports Sciences at the University of Central Punjab [1].

Who Is Affected

• WAPDA, Pakistan Navy, and HEC athletes were the primary competitors in the standings [2, 3].
• Salma Afridi, a student at the University of Central Punjab, achieved medal success [1].
• Sports analysts and local administrators have called on Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Faisal Karim Kundi, the Director General of the KP Sports Directorate, and relevant sports bodies to provide sponsorship, modern training facilities, and dedicated patronage to Salma Afridi [1].