Pakistan Army extend National Games dominance, complete century of gold

KARACHI: Pakistan Army continued their dominant run at the 35th National Games here on Wednesday, amassing a century of gold medals by emerging victorious in several disciplines, including athletics, swimming and team sports.

At the conclusion of the pulsating day here, Pakistan Army were at the summit of the medal standings with 113 gold medals, coupled with 50 silver and 34 bronze.

Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) remained second in standings with 46 gold medals, followed by Pakistan Navy in third with 24 top honours.

The action-packed day kicked off with the 42.195km men's marathon, which saw Pakistan Navy's Shahbaz Masih clinch the top honour by completing the course, which began at the Quaid-e-Azam monument and passed through multiple city routes, in 2 hours and 25 minutes.

WAPDA's Sher Khan finished second, while Pakistan Navy's Shoaib Akhtar secured third place.

WAPDA's Faiqa Riaz maintained her exceptional run at the Games by winning the women's long jump with a 5.52-metre leap, completing a hat-trick of gold medals after earlier triumphs in the 100m and 200m events.

Pakistan Army's dominance stretched across athletics as Usman Ali (men's 200m), Mohammad Akhtar (10,000m) and Ismail (400m) added further golds for the department.

WAPDA, on the other hand, swept several women's track and field categories, with Uzma Awan winning the hammer throw, Iram Shehzadi prevailing in 1500m, while Ghazala Ramzan triumphed in 100m hurdles.

In swimming, Army's Ahmed Durrani completed the double hat-trick of gold medals, having claimed six laurels for his department after adding victories in the 800m freestyle, 200m freestyle and 200m relay.

WAPDA's Hamza Asif broke a national record in the men's 50m breaststroke, while Jehanara Nabi continued her strong performances in women's swimming and Hareem secured another gold for Sindh.

Pakistan Army also excelled in rowing, winning five golds and one silver, while Pakistan Navy picked up two golds and five silvers.

In women's weightlifting, honours were split, with standout victories for Pakistan Army's Khadija Waheed (69kg) and Sonia Azmat (77kg), and WAPDA's Nazia Aslam (86-plus kg) and Nadia Maqsood (86kg).

In shooting, Pakistan Navy added four more gold medals to their growing tally, while Pakistan Army bagged two.

Furthermore, Karate events also saw Pakistan Army maintaining supremacy in both men's and women's categories.

Pakistan Army dominated team sports as well, defeating WAPDA to win gold in women's football and women's softball. They enjoyed an unbeaten run in the single-league football format.

Meanwhile, the Squash events have moved into the decisive stage, with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Mahnoor Ali and Pakistan Army's Zainab reaching the women's final, while WAPDA's Noor Zaman and Pakistan Army's Huzaifa Ibrahim advanced to the men's singles title match.