Dominant Army continues gold rush at National Games

PESHAWAR: Army, as usual, kept showing terrific prowess in various disciplines to maintain the overall lead as they were heading the medal chart with 106 gold, 79 silver and 50 bronze medals on the fourth day of the 33rd National Games here on Wednesday.

As per unofficial statistics, WAPDA were trailing second with 74 gold, 66 silver and 57 bronze medals. Navy were at third place with 19 gold, five silver and three bronze.

Army (537 points) won men’s swimming event held at the Pakistan Sports Complex in Islamabad by capturing 20 gold, ten silver and four bronze medals.

WAPDA (222 points) bagged second position by lifting eight silver and seven bronze, while Sindh (96 points) ended third with one silver and five bronze. Punjab (80 points) got one silver and four bronze.

International swimmer Syed Mohammad Haseeb Tariq of Army emerged as the best athlete with seven gold, including four individual and three in relays. His feat also included one national record which he had set on the opening day in 200m freestyle.

Meanwhile, Army also emerged as winners of women’s swimming event by claiming 421 points which they got by virtue of 14 gold, three silver, and four bronze.

WAPDA (319 points) finished as runners-up with five gold, 12 silver and five bronze. Sindh (180 points) ended third with four silver and five bronze medals. Islamabad got two bronze, while Navy and Punjab picked one bronze each. Olympian Kiran Khan of Army and her younger sister Bisma Khan were jointly declared as the best swimmers by capturing record ten gold medals each.

Navy had taken an unassailable lead in sailing competitions at Karachi by lifting seven gold and one silver medal. Pakistan Air Force (PAF) were trailing second with one gold, three silver and three bronze. Army were at the place with two silver and three bronze. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa got one silver and two bronze and Sindh captured one silver.

Match racing event is yet to be completed. In 470 Class, Navy’s Rehmanullah and Khalid Hussain captured gold with seven penalty points (pp). They were followed by Sindh’s Abdul Hameed and Mehboob Zakir who got silver with 13pp. Pakistan Air Force’s (PAF) Naved Ahmed and Ali Hamza claimed bronze with 21 pp. Meanwhile, the Laser Standard gold went to Navy’s Najeebullah Khan with eight pp, Allah Ditta of Army took silver with 12 pp and Athar Sultan of PAF grabbed bronze with 19pp.

Qasim Abbas of Navy emerged as champion of the RS:X class with nine pp, Irfan of PAF got silver with 12pp and Abdul Sami of KP captured bronze with 23pp. Navy’s Mohammad Tariq and Riaz Khan did a fine job to win enterprise gold with eight pp, Rahim Dad Khan and Kashif Saeed of KP got silver with 16pp and Army’s Ayub Anjum and Asim Khan picked bronze with 19pp. The event was organised near Oyster Rock at Clifton beach.

Meanwhile, in men’s kabaddi final, which was marred by frequent long reviews, Army beat Navy 30-20 to lift gold. Pakistan Air Force (PAF) got bronze medal.

In boxing quarter-finals, Mohammad Ali of Navy defeated Salar Abid of KP 5-0 in 69kg. International Gul Zeb of Army knocked out Saddam Hussain of Islamabad in the first round. Abdul Samad of Balochistan overpowered Tahir of Railways 3-2 to make it to the pre-final in the same weight. Saiful Manan of Army defeated Ehsanullah in the 75 kilogramme.

In quarter-finals on Tuesday night, in 49kg, KP’s Eidullah beat Navy’s Mohammad Daud Khan, Sindh’s Zohaib Rasheed overpowered HEC’s Ahmed Khan, WAPDA’s Jehanzeb Khan overcame Mohammad Saeed of Army and Zakir Hussain of Balochistan defeated PAF’s Bilal Ahmed. In 52kg quarter-finals, Attaullah of WAPDA defeated Sajid Rasheed of Navy, Abdul Wali of HEC got the better of Bashir Ahmed of Balochistan, Railways’s Noor Ali whacked Tanveer of Police, Army’s international boxer Syed Mohammad Asif got the better of Ahmed Afridi of Sindh. In 64kg quarters, Sindh’s Abdul Jalil defeated Fahad Islam of Punjab, Navy’s Qadir Khan got the better of PAF’s Amir Masood, WAPDA’s Naqeebullah whacked Balochistan’s Naqeebullah and Army’s Suleman Baloch overcame Mohammad Daud of Railways. In women’s quarter-finals, in lightweight (57kg-60kg), Mehreen of Sindh defeated Asma of Islamabad.

Army lifted women’s squash team event gold after beating WAPDA 2-0 here at PAF Squash Complex. Madina Zafar of Army got the better of Komal Khan of WAPDA 3-1 with the set score being 7-11, 11-3, 11-5, 11-4. Amna Fayyaz of Army then whacked Muqaddis Ashraf of WAPDA 3-0 with the set score being 12-10, 13-111, 4-11 and 11-9. The men’s squash team gold went to WAPDA who beat Punjab 2-0 in the final. Pakistan’s highly experienced player Farhan Mehboob defeated Tayyab Aslam 3-1 in the first fixture with the set score being 11-3, 11-9, 11-3, 11-4. Danish Atlas overpowered Asim Khan 3-1 to complete the victory. The set score was 11-8, 6-11, 11-5, 12-10. Earlier in semi-finals, Punjab beat Railways 2-0.

Tayyab Aslam of Punjab defeated Zahir Shah of Railways 13-11, 11-8,11-8. Asim Khan then completed Punjab’s victory with a 3-2 win over Ali Bukhari. The set score was 13-11, 11-9, 8-11, 11-9, 11-3. In the other semi-final, WAPDA defeated PAF 2-0. Danish Atlas defeated Farhan Zaman 3-2 with the set score being 11-6, 6-11, 11-9, 8-11, 12-10. Farhan Mehboob then got the better of his younger brother Waqas Mehboob 3-0 to complete victory. The set score was 11-7, 11-7, 12-10.

In women’s rugby which began at Kunj Football Stadium in Abbottabad, Railways beat Punjab 5-0, WAPDA overwhelmed Sindh 58-0 and KP beat Balochistan 20-0. Army outclassed Punjab 30-0.

In men’s hockey Group B clash here at Lala Ayub Hockey Stadium, Punjab defeated Balochistan 6-1 with Rizwan scoring four goals for the winners. KP and Army have already qualified for the semi-finals from Group A.

In men’s football at Tehmas Khan Stadium, WAPDA, Navy, Pakistan Air Force (PAF) and Army have qualified for the semi-finals in the six-team event. On Wednesday, the Group A outing between Navy and WAPDA ended in a goalless draw with WAPDA finishing as group winners. Army, in the other game, beat PAF 3-2.

In bodybuilding competitions at Mardan, WAPDA lifted trophy with eight gold, five silver, and four bronze medals. Army remained as runners-up with two gold, four silver, and one bronze. Railways finished third with one silver and three bronze.

WAPDA won the women’s weightlifting event with 76 points which they got by virtue of four gold and two bronze. Army finished as runners-up with 75 points as they secured them through seven silvers. Railways (69 points) wrapped-up their journey with three gold, and four bronze. Army’s Rabia Razzaq got gold in 87kg competition, Army’s Rabia Shaheen claimed silver and Railways’ Nazia Parveen captured bronze. In 76kg, Railways Twinkle Sohail got gold, Army’s Rukhsar Yaqoob claimed silver and WAPDA’s Nadia Maqsood captured bronze. In 87kg, WAPDA’s Saira Bano got gold, Army’s Zara Zubair took silver and Railways’ Momina Arshad picked bronze.

In karate competitions which began Wednesday, Niamatullah of WAPDA won men’s individual kata gold, Mohammad Sajjad of Army finished with a silver, and Saifullah of KP and Rehmatullah of Railways captured bronze medals. Team kata gold went to Army, featuring Mohammad Sajjad, Akhtar Munir and Amir Abbas, WAPDA, featuring Jawad, Shahnoor Hussain and Mohammad Shehbaz, got silver while Sindh and Railways got bronze medals.

In women’s individual kata, Shahida of WAPDA got gold, Aiman of Army took silver and Farishta of Railways took bronze. WAPDA also won women team kata gold, Army gained silver and Balochistan took bronze. In tug-of-war, WAPDA and Railways blasted their way into the final. In semi-finals on Wednesday, WAPDA beat Army 2-0, while Railways overwhelmed Punjab 2-0. Sindh defeated Balochistan 2-0 to finish sixth. In men’s volleyball, Army, PAF, WAPDA and Navy qualified for the semi-finals, while in women’s event Army, WAPDA, Police and Higher Education Commission (HEC) confirmed their pre-final berths.