The Pakistan Army launched into the 35th National Games on Wednesday, winning 113 gold medals after winning titles in athletics, swimming and several team events.
At the end of a thrilling day here, Pakistan Army was at the top of the medal table with 113 gold medals, along with 50 silvers and 34 bronzes.
The Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) remained second in the rankings with 46 gold medals, followed by Pakistan Navy in third position with 24 grand honours.
The action-packed day began with the 42.195km men’s marathon, in which Pakistan Navy’s Shahbaz Masih bagged the highest honor by completing the course – which started at the Quaid-e-Azam monument and passed through several city routes – in 2 hours 25 minutes.
Sher Khan of Wapda finished second, while Shoaib Akhtar of Pakistan Navy secured third place.
Wapda’s Faiqa Riaz continued her stellar run at the Games by winning the women’s long jump with a leap of 5.52 metres, completing a hat-trick of gold medals following earlier triumphs in the 100m and 200m events.
Pakistan Army’s dominance extended to athletics as Usman Ali (men’s 200m), Mohammad Akhtar (10,000m) and Ismail (400m) added new gold medals for the department.
Wapda, on the other hand, swept several women’s athletics categories, with Uzma Awan winning the hammer throw, Iram Shehzadi winning in 1500m, while Ghazala Ramzan triumphing in the 100m hurdles.
In swimming, Army’s Ahmed Durrani completed the double hat-trick of gold medals, winning 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 performance in women’s swimming and Hareem won another gold medal for Sindh.
The Pakistan Army also excelled in rowing, winning five gold and one silver medals, while the Pakistan Navy won two gold and five silver medals.
In women’s weightlifting, honors were shared, with notable victories going to Pakistan Army’s Khadija Waheed (69kg) and Sonia Azmat (77kg), as well as Wapda’s Nazia Aslam (86kg and above) and Nadia Maqsood (86kg).
In shooting, Pakistan Navy added four more gold medals to its growing tally, while Pakistan Army won two.
Furthermore, the karate events also saw the Pakistan Army maintaining supremacy in both men’s and women’s categories.
The Pakistan Army also dominated team sports, beating Wapda to win gold in women’s football and women’s softball. They have enjoyed an unbeaten run in the single league football format.
Meanwhile, the squash events entered the deciding 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 qualified for the men’s singles title match.
