Pakistan’s international stalwarts led the charge as weightlifter Hanzala Dastagir Butt demolished the field to bag gold by a long shot, while badminton star Mahoor Shahzad won the women’s singles for the third time as the competitions drew to a close at the National Games on Friday.
Wapda’s Hanzala made each lift look effortless as a delighted crowd mostly comprised of team-mates and enthusiasts of the sport looked on at the YMCA Scouts Auditorium.
He lifted 157kg in the snatch and 193kg in the clean and jerk to post a massive 350kg total in the men’s 110kg category.
The 23-year-old is already eyeing next year’s Commonwealth Games, where his older brother Nooh Dastigir Butt clinched the +109kg title in record-breaking fashion at the 2022 edition.
“I take inspiration from him that one day I’ll also win a medal for Pakistan at that stage, and set a new record,” Hanzala told Dawn.
Hanzala’s gold was one of four on the men’s side in addition to one silver and bronze medal each to clinch the trophy.
“Our win makes me really happy,” team coach Ali Aslam said in a moment reminiscent of his days as a weightlifter, his journey cut short by injury after spending nearly two decades in the sport.
“But all our athletes here are fantastic; Army, HEC. It’s a huge deal that they were runner up, it’s been ages since I saw them have such a solid team,” Ali said of the higher education commission, who won two gold, as many silver and one bronze medal.
Coach Ali credits the team’s triumphs to the athletes’ dedication and a 52-day training camp ahead of the Games.
The appreciation was reciprocated by athletes alike, especially three-time national games athlete Nadia Maqsood, whose eight-year-old son looked at her in awe as she spoke to the media about her accolades.
She won gold in the women’s 86kg and clinched the masters weightlifting title and award for best lifter at an international meet.
Olympian Mahoor, on the other hand, was still getting a hang of juggling motherhood and training; being a multiple-time national champion was a piece of cake for her.
“My daughter is only 18 months now,” Mahoor told Dawn after claiming the women’s singles title. “Even at the international level, players take almost two years off as a maternity break. I made my comeback a bit quicker.”
Mahoor, the event’s poster athlete, fought back from a game down to defeat Army’s Alja Tariq and secure her third National Games gold.
The men’s singles final was an all-Wapda, contentious affair. Irfan Saeed staged a remarkable comeback from behind to down M. Ali Larosh 21-12, 21-19, sealing the match with a controversial line call.
“I think I was destined to win today,“ the 33-year-old Irfan told Dawn, who credited a month-long pre-event camp for his victory and now eyes qualification for the LA 2028 Olympics.
However, Army wrested control in the team events.
The duo of Raja Hasnain and Raja Zulqarnain broke Wapda’s streak to win the men’s doubles gold 21-15, 13-21, 21-15.
Army’s dominance continued as Ammarah Ishtiaq and Alja downed Wapda’s pair of Ghazala Siddique and Mahoor 21-12, 21-13 for the women’s doubles gold.
The mixed doubles title was also secured by Army, with Hasnain and Ammarah giving Larosh his third loss of the day.
The Army duo emerged victorious against Pakistan’s no 2 Larosh and Ghazala 21-19, 21-16.
Elsewhere at the games, Army extended their dominance in table tennis, baseball and men’s hockey, while Wapda shone in women’s events.
Army clinched the overall trophy in table tennis after commanding performances in the singles events.
Hoor Fawad outplayed team-mate and national champion Haiqa Hasan 3-0 in the women’s singles final, dropping just 25 points across the match (12-10, 11-8, 11-7).
In the men’s final, Ahmad Sajid edged past Shah Khan 3-2 after a tense, seesaw battle (8-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-3, 12-10).
Punjab earned their share of glory when Owais and Kulsoom secured the mixed doubles gold with a 3-1 win over Wapda’s Asim Qureshi and Sadia.
Army and Pakistan Navy split honours in the shooting events. Navy’s Aqib Latif topped the podium in the men’s 50m 3P rifle individual event, but Army responded strongly by claiming the team gold through the trio of Mohammad Uzman, Din Muhammad and Sarfraz Gul.
Army continued their surge as Umer Farooq captured the 25m centre fire pistol individual title, though Navy hit back with Maqbool Hussain, Abdul Quddus and Zafar Iqbal taking the team gold in the same discipline.
Army’s Farrukh Nadeem secured the double trap individual crown before pairing with Amir and Junaid to seal the team gold as well.
Army further consolidated their medal haul by defeating Wapda 9-7 in the baseball final at NED University.
In a high-scoring contest, Army held their nerve in the closing stages to complete yet another successful campaign.
Clinching the men’s hockey title widened their tally after a tense 2-1 win over Navy at the KHA Hockey Stadium.
Mohammad Owais scored both goals for Army — first converting a penalty corner in the 45th minute before netting the decisive field goal in the 58th, shortly after Navy had equalised through Essa Khan.
PAF found glory at the KPT Stadium in the football final, with Samad Khan’s goal separating them and Pakistan Army.
The tournament’s top-scorer netted the winner in the second half, getting on the end of a long ball that he let bounce before leaping highest to meet it with a header with the loop taking it over the goalkeeper and the despairing dive of an Army defender.
“I hope my performances here and the National Games gold pave the way for national team reckoning,” he told Dawn after PAF’s 1-0 victory.
As the competitions came to an end, with the closing ceremony on Saturday, Pakistan’s Olympic chief said the National Games were “one of a kind”.
“Nothing is bigger than the National Games for the sporting fraternity of Pakistan,” Pakistan Olympic Association president Arif Saeed told Dawn at the KHA Complex.
“We had 11,000 athletes participating in the games — maybe five athletes of them will go to the Olympics, if God wills then hopefully 10,15. An event of this scale, that brings the whole country together, is one of a kind.”
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