Wapda, Army continue National Games’ domination

Maryam Baber, Liaqat Ali break national records.

PESHAWAR/ISLAMABAD: Wapda dominated the third day of the 31st National Games and inched closer to Pakistan Army at the top of the table with 18 gold medals compared to Army’s three on the day.

Two national records were also broken as Army’s Liaqat Ali timed 10.78 seconds in the 100-metre men’s sprint while Wapda’s Maryam Baber improved her triple jump distance by recording 11.66 metres. Baber earlier held the record when he jumped 11.40 metres in the National Championship that was held in Islamabad in June this year.

Football

Pakistan Air Force (Paf) and Wapda will clash in the final of the football tournament after both the teams won their last-four encounters in the tournament.

Wapda outclassed Pakistan Army 1-0 after Jadeed Khan scored the only goal in the 12th minute. Paf defeated Pakistan Navy 2-0 in the other semi-final with Zeeshan scoring just before the half-time before Irfan Ali doubled the lead in the 69th minute. While Paf and Wapda will vie for the gold medal today, Pakistan Navy face Pakistan Army for the bronze medal match.

Wrestling

Wapda shocked Army by bagging first place after scoring 69 points with three gold and seven bronze medals in the wrestling event of the Games.

Wapda earned a gold in the 60-kilogramme (kg), 74-kg and 120-kg categories while securing bronze in the 55-kg, 66-kg, 84-kg, and 96-kg events.

Army followed Wapda with two golds and three silver medals.

Netball

Sindh and Army were all set for a final showdown in the netball event being played here at Paf Sports Complex.

In the first semi-final Sindh beat Balochistan 33-7 while Army defeated Punjab 24-18 in the other last-four match.

In the men’s event, Army and Police booked a place in the final after winning their last-four encounters. While Police defeated Sindh 31-26, Army beat Wapda 50-49.

Baseball

Army, Police, Wapda and Balochistan qualified for the baseball semi-finals being played at Mardan Sports Complex.

In the first quarter-final, Balochistan defeated Punjab 6-1 while Wapda outclassed Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 13-3.

Athletics

Naseem Hamid failed to impress as she clocked 12.80 seconds in the 100-metre women’s sprint, one second and a fraction slower than her timing in the 11th SAF Games held in Dhaka earlier this year.

Hamid, who had recorded 11.81 seconds in the Bangladesh capital and was titled the fastest woman in South Asia after her feat, became the first woman athlete of Pakistan to win 100-metre gold in the 26-year history of the SAF Games.

“The chilly weather conditions proved harmful for me,” Hamid told APP. “The track was also not up to the standard. But I’m still happy with my achievement as it was my first appearance since the South Asian Games.”

Published in The Express Tribune, December 29^th, 2010.