Post-national anthem feat: Bonanza of world records set in Lahore

New records set in chapatti-making, chessboard arranging, pulling a truck with moustaches, among others.

LAHORE:

Pakistan may not have brought home any medals from this summer’s Olympics, but it can now lay claim to world records in chapati-making, plug-wiring, chessboard-arranging and pulling a pickup truck with facial hair.

A weekend of bizarre record attempts in Lahore began on Saturday night when 42,813 people in the National Hockey Stadium sang the national anthem together, smashing the previous best of 15,243 held by India. The state-run news agency, however, claimed the number to be over 70,000.

On Sunday, Mohammad Mansha went flat out to set a new record for making chapatis (breads) – mixing, kneading, spinning and cooking three in three minutes and 14 seconds – while 12-year-old Mehek Gul took just 45 seconds to arrange the pieces on a chessboard using only one hand.

Neither of these feats had been attempted before. But Ahmed Amin Bodla beat a more established record when he landed 616 martial arts kicks on a punchbag in just three minutes, beating the previous best of 612 also set by a Pakistani.

In a land with a proud tradition of facial hair, Saddi Muhammad set a record by using his moustache to pull a 1.7-tonne pickup truck a distance of 60.3 metres, to wild applause from the crowd.

The events were held as part of a week-long Punjab Youth Festival in Lahore with the watchful eye of Guinness World Records adjudicator Gareth Deaves ensuring fair play, manager Sher Ali told AFP.

While some people might prefer care over haste when it comes to electrics, Mohammad Nauman lit up the crowd in Lahore as he wired a household plug in a dazzling 35 seconds.

Elsewhere, Daniel Gill and Mohammad Rizwan set a new record for heading a football between them, managing 335 consecutive headers in three minutes 45 seconds.

But there was heartache for one contender, whose bid to claim the record for most t-shirts donned in three minutes was disallowed when officials ruled he had failed to smooth down all of the 59 shirts properly.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 22^nd,  2012.