Kiran swims Army into lead at National Games

Team on top with 26 gold medals on second day.

KARACHI: Kiran Khan’s excellent run at the National Games swimming event helped Army secure five more gold medals as the team boosted its overall ranking on the second day in Islamabad.

Having won three gold medals on Saturday, Kiran added five more, winning the 200 metre (m) freestyle and 400-m individual medley events other than the team competitions yesterday.

“My aim is to break the national record in my remaining six events,” Kiran told The Express Tribune. “I’m happy and I need to win at least 15 gold medals now to create another record.”

Meanwhile, Army gymnasts finished their event with eight gold medals and 288.5 points. Army’s Shakeel Haider and Faisal Iqbal won two gold medals apiece in floor and vault events.

Elsewhere, Army cyclists also won the 72-kilometre time trial event in an hour, 44 minutes and 25 seconds, followed by Balochistan and Punjab.

Army also won the women’s time trial event covering 14km in 26 minutes.

Debutants at the Games, cueists Mohammad Sajjad, Muhammad Asif and Imran Shehzad, who were representing Punjab, defeated Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) 3-2 and Sindh 3-1 in their matches.

Shehzad said that the players were facing problems regarding the schedule and timings in the absence of officials.

Leaders Army dominated the day with 14 gold medals, taking their tally to 26 in the overall rankings, following by Punjab with six golds, according to information provided by the Pakistan Olympic Association Interim Committee.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 1^st, 2013.

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