Faryal Farooq Lights Up National Games
Faryal Farooq Lights Up National Games: The winter sun offered no mercy on the opening day of the National Games, baking the open-air arena. Yet, beneath the relentless blaze, cold focus reigned. Hurdlers paced, discuses cut humid air, and a scattered crowd fanned themselves, tracking multiple dramas at once.
A Whisper, Then Fire
For discus thrower Faryal Farooq, the day was the sharp point of a four-year grind. Through four throws, the national record remained distant. Then, a quiet moment with coach Ashraf Ali: “I will be proud if you break it.”
That was the spark. On her final attempt, Faryal spun and released. The discus carved a silent, perfect arc against the azure sky before thudding into the earth—history made. The mark: 38.21 meters, a new national record.
“I put everything into that final throw,” a breathless Faryal from Azad Jammu and Kashmir told Dawn. “We train all year for one event. You have to leave your heart in the field.”
Glory in the Blaze
While Faryal’s moment shone brightest, other stories of grit unfolded across the scorched venue.
- Hurdling More Than Barriers: Musarrat Shaheen (Wapda) powered to 400m hurdles gold, her bright smile belying sober words. “It’s a killer sport,” she said, citing constant injury risk. Her greater hurdle was societal: “Where I’m from [Mianwali], backward thinking says girls should stay home. Thankfully, my family supported me.”
- A Walker’s Burden: For Qasim Fayyaz (Army), the 20km race walk was a war of attrition against heat and time. He finished seven minutes off his best. His sacrifice is a brutal routine: 90km weekly road runs, twice-daily gym sessions. “The body fatigues… We get little time to rest. Focus on diet, which is integral, is also not much.”
- The Last-Meter Pounce: The men’s 400m hurdles saw a classic late surge. Abid Razzak (Army) stalked his teammate until the final meters, then pounced to steal gold by a heartbeat. “I practiced more,” said Razzak, a 2019 Asian Games athlete. “Those extra hours paid off.”
- Olympian Class, Collapsing at the Line: Pure class belonged to Olympian Faiqa Riaz. A day after winning the 100m, she dug deep to clinch the 200m by a mere 0.10 seconds. The effort was so total she collapsed onto the track upon winning, spent by the fight on home soil.
Legacy in the Shadows
Beyond the track, history was being cemented. In the wrestling arena, Commonwealth Games gold medalist Inam Butt quietly secured his 18th national title—the most by any wrestler in history—extending a legacy that dwarfed the day’s heat.
As the sun dipped, the pool offered a cooler tableau for the start of swimming events. But on the field, the day belonged to those who conquered the blaze—where years of lonely training met minutes of searing opportunity, and where every gold medal was a triumph not just over competition, but over everything it takes to get to the line.
