Young swimmer Daniyal aims high

LAHORE: Daniyal Ghulam Nabi created a sensation at the 24th National Boys Age Group Swimming Championships held in Lahore.

Only 14 years old, the tall, cheerful boy broke age group records in all the five events that he participated in, representing the Punjab. His timings while breaking these records and taking huge leads over other swimmers in the field – who represented Sindh, the KP and other provinces and regions – suggested that before very long Daniyal would be swimming at national and international level.

Daniyal broke records in the 50m, 100m and 200m breaststroke, the 200m individual medley and the 50m freestyle. He is especially good at breaststroke, though his performance in the individual medley, which combines all four strokes across an Olympic-sized pool demonstrates his versatile ability and talent. Speaking about his reasons for taking up a sport which is not always popular among youngsters, Daniyal, a student at a prestigious boys school in Lahore, explained he was partly drawn towards the sport because his elder sister, who is an international swimmer and record holder in her own right, went for swim training each day but also because “I love the whole concept of swimming and all that it involves.” Daniyal also says he really began to enjoy swimming and found it fun after he started training with his long-time coach Ghulam Murtaza, saying “he made it really interesting and exciting for me when I was young, even though I wasn’t really training seriously at that point, and focusing more on developing technique.”

Daniyal credits his coach with a good part of his success. Ghulam Murtaza has also coached a large number of Pakistan’s top swimmers, both boys and girls. Many have represented Pakistan at international level.

Unusually for a 14 year old, Daniyal chose a life involving a great deal of discipline. He wakes up at 4:45 each morning and says “I swim for two hours till 7am and then go straight to school.” Three days a week, he also trains in the afternoons, after school. Daniyal told The News “combining social life, swimming and everything else is hard but it is a sacrifice you have to make to meet your ambitions.” His ambitions are to beat the Pakistan national record in the 100m breaststroke event and eventually gain a qualifying time for the Olympic Games and perhaps a medal at the South Asian Games.

Daniyal will be swimming at the upcoming National Games being held in Peshawar in mid November. He will be amongst the youngest swimmers at the event and his talent and ambition should carry him on to win even more medals at every level.