Arshad, Haider’s Olympic and Paralympic medals were significant accomplishments.
KARACHI: Despite the dearth of funding and attention given to non-cricket sports, Pakistani sportsmen shocked the globe in a variety of disciplines and won international awards in 2024, bringing optimism and good news to the country’s sports scene.
The majority of Pakistani sports newsmakers were men, and there is a significant disparity in female athletes’ participation and performance.
Let’s revisit the events that led to the 2024 Pakistani sports stars.
Haider Ali
Haider Ali is without a doubt Pakistan’s most successful individual athlete. He solidified his position at the busy Stade de France, north of Paris, by winning his fourth Paralympic Games medal. In discus throw category F37, he was aiming for gold and a successful championship defense, but he lost in the middle of the contest. Despite having the flu throughout the event on the afternoon of September 6, he ended with a bronze medal.
The only athlete from Pakistan to ever win a Paralympic medal for his country is Haider. Due to a lack of funding and support, he made his international debut in Paris two years later. Before leaving for Paris, he trained in the rainy and soggy open grounds of Gujranwala, using just a 10-day camp that the Pakistan Sports Board provided.
In the five games he participated in, he has won four medals—one gold, one silver, and now two bronze—making his success rate in the biggest sporting event 80 percent. With his achievements for Pakistan, he is exceptional.
Arshad Nadeem
On the evening of August 8, javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem won the gold medal at the Stade de France after shocking the world with a massive 92.97-meter effort that broke the Olympic record. He appeared more eager than ever to surpass the 98.48-meter work record. As he chased after the mark he himself had set early in the final, he astonished his opponents, particularly India’s Neeraj Chopra, the defending champion and off-field friend, by setting the record on his second throw.
Arshad delivered Pakistan its first gold in 40 years and its first Olympic medal in 32 years with an incredible performance.
Arshad attended the Olympics for the second time. In Tokyo, he came in fifth.
Muhammad Asif
Muhammad Asif became the first person from Pakistan to win the World Championship title three times and only the second person in the history of the International Billiards and Snooker Federation.
Asif brought home the championship in November after defeating Ali Gharahgozlou of Iran 5-3 in the final held in Doha. He had previously taken home the title in 2012 and 2019.
Nooh Dastgir
Due to political power struggles at the Pakistan Weightlifting Federation, Nooh Dastgir was forced to miss the Olympics in Paris; nevertheless, he returned stronger after winning the Strongman tournament in May. After that, he started training for his first-ever Commonwealth Powerlifting Championship.
He set the Asian record with a 400-kg squat in the +120 kg division at the Asian Powerlifting Championship in December after winning seven gold medals and a bronze in the Commonwealth Championship classic and equipped events in October.
Ali Ilyas
Riding a bicycle The first-ever Asian champion from Pakistan was Ali Ilyas. At the Asian Road Cycling Championship in June, he won two gold medals while showcasing his extraordinary speed and stamina.
Muhammad Waseem
In the individual time trial, he completed 21 kilometers in 27 minutes and 18.142 seconds. In Almaty, Kazakhstan, he won the road scratch race as well, finishing the 61.4-kilometer course in an hour and 26 minutes.
On October 4, boxer Muhammad Waseem defeated Jaba Memishishi via technical knockout to record his first victory as an international. After a management change and two pauses, he resumed his struggle. Although Sunny Edwards defeated him in 2022, he is determined to win the global championship again. In Quetta, his hometown, he hopes to host an international fight.
