Pakistani sports saw a surge of good news and hope in 2024 as the athletes managed to surprise the world in a number of disciplines, winning international accolades despite the limited resources and the lack of focus on non-cricket sports.
Most of the newsmakers for Pakistan in sports were men and a huge gap can be felt in participation and results when it comes to the female athletes.
Let's relive the moments that gave us the Pakistani sports heroes for 2024.
Haider Ali
Pakistan's most successful individual athlete is, hands down, Haider Ali, who cemented his status at the bustling Stade de France in north of Paris when he grabbed his fourth Paralympic Games medal. He was going for gold, and a successful title defense in discus throw category F37 but fell short in the middle of the fight. He finished the event with a bronze medal despite the flu he was experiencing during the event on the afternoon of September 6.
Haider is the only Pakistani athlete to ever win a Paralympic medal at the Games for Pakistan. In Paris, he made his international debut after two years because of the lack of funds and support. He trained in the rain and waterlogged open grounds of Gujranwala before going to Paris, with only a 10-day camp provided by the Pakistan Sports Board.
He has won four medals, including one gold, one silver, and now two bronzes in five games he competed at, making his success rate at the biggest stage of the sports 80 percent. He stands alone with the success he has had for Pakistan.
Arshad Nadeem
Javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem stunned the world with a monstrous 92.97 metre mark breaking the Olympic record and winning the gold medal at Stade de France on the evening of August 8. He looked hungrier than ever to break the work record of 98.48 metres. He created the record on his second throw and left his opponents, especially the defending champion and off-the-field friend India's Neeraj Chopra, stunned while chasing after the mark he himself had set early on in the final.
In a remarkable performance, Arshad brought Pakistan's first Olympic medal in 32 years and its first gold in 40 years.
This was Arshad's second appearance at the Olympics. He had finished fifth in Tokyo.
Muhammad Asif
Muhammad Asif became only the second person in the International Billiards and Snooker Federation's history and the first in Pakistan to win the World Championship title thrice.
Asif defeated Iran's Ali Gharahgozlou 5-3 in the final played in Doha in November to bring the trophy home. He previously won the championship in 2012 and 2019.
Nooh Dastgir
Nooh Dastgir had to miss the Paris Olympics due to the political powerplays at the Pakistan Weightlifting Federation but he came back stronger when he won the Strongman competition in May. Then he began preparing for the Commonwealth Powerlifting Championship to make his debut in the sport.
He won seven gold medals and a bronze at the Commonwealth Championship classic and equipped events in October and in December he created the Asian record at the Asian Powerlifting championship with a 400-kg squat in the +120 kg category.
Ali Ilyas
Cycling Ali Ilyas became the first Pakistani to ever win the Asian title. He won two gold medals demonstrating incredible speed and endurance at the Asian Raod Cycling Championship in June.
He covered 21 kilometers in 27 minutes and 18.142 seconds in the individual time trial, while he emerged as the winner in the road scratch race as well when he took an hour and 26 minutes to traverse across the distance of 61.4 km in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Muhammad Waseem
Boxer Muhammad Waseem made his international return with a win in Malta when he defeated Jaba Memishishi in a technical knockout on October 4. He returned to fighting after two gaps and a management change. He lost to Sunny Edwards in 2022, but he wants another shot at the world title. He is striving to hold an international bout in his hometown Quetta.
Squash
Pakistan squash saw a great year, led by the youth when Ibrahim Zeb and Yahya Khan won the U15 and U17 gold medals, respectively, in the Junior Squash Championships in Melbourne. Pakistan won five gold medals including two from sisters Mahnoor Ali (U13) and Mehwish (U17) in April.
The 2023 World Junior Champion Hamza Khan won the Asian individual championship title in June in Islamabad.
Pakistan's Mahnoor and Harmas Raja also won the e US Junior Open Squash Championships in December.
Honourable mentions
Hockey
Pakistan hockey saw few moments of joy in a rather dismal administrative affairs.
Pakistan shone at the Azan Shah Cup when they finished second after losing to Japan in June. Pakistani youth had more to look forward to at the Junior Asia Cup, where they reached the final but lost to India 2-1 in the final.
Sohail sisters
Powerlifting powerhouses Twinkle SOahil and her sisters Sybil and Veronika won 15 gold medals in Asian Pacific African Combined Powerlifting Championship in South Africa in July. They trained in Lahore for the event.They also won medals at the Commonwealth Powerlifting Championships in October.
Anita Karim
Pakistani Mixed Martial Arts legend Anit Karim defeated Italiy's Adriana Fusiniin through submission in the One Championship One Friday Fights. The fight took place in January.
Taekwondo
Pakistan made history in October when they won eight medals at the Asian Open Taekwondo Championships in Islamabad. The team secured three gold medals, three silver, and two bronze medals. In August too Amir Khan bagged a gold medal at the Heroes Taekwondo Championships in Thailand.
Baseball
Pakistan took the bronze medal in the WBSC Blind Baseball World Cup in England.
The regular Pakistan team won the UAE Classic Baseball title in November. They defeated the hosts 12-1.
Volleyball
Pakistan won the Central Asian Volleyball Championship title in May when they defeated Turkmenistan 3-1 in the final.The junior team was impressive as well and they grabbed a bronze medal in the Asian U18 Championship in August and also booked their place in the 2025 World U19 Volleyball Championship.
Rowing
Karachi Boat Club (KBC) female rowers made Pakistan proud as they bagged the silver medal in the Grand Moscow Regatta on June 1.
They finished second behind a Russian club.
Tennis
Aisamul Haq Qureshi became the president of the Pakistan Tennis Federation after the election earlier in 2024.
Mountaineering
Mountaineer Sultana Nasab became the third Pakistani woman to summit K2, while Sirbaz Khan became the first Pakistani mountaineer to summit all of the world's 14 peaks above 8,000 metres, he was accompanied by the 22-year-old mountaineer Shehroze Khan also made history with the 1 peaks, but he became the youngest Pakistani to do so.
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