Pakistani athletes who made us proud this year

 

This year, a number of Pakistani athletes have made us proud by making a name for themselves in the international arena. 

On this Independence Day, let's take a look at their achievements:

Inam Butt

Wrestler Inam Butt gave Pakistan its lone Gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia by completely outclassing his opponent Melvin Bibo of Nigeria in the final of the 86kg weight category.

Inam also won a gold medal at the Delhi Commonwealth Games in 2010.

Nooh Butt

 

Pakistan’s young weightlifter Nooh Dastagir Butt added a Gold medal to his tally of achievements during the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) Junior World Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan this year.

Nooh, 20, also won a Bronze medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia, and a Gold medal in Commonwealth Youth Championship last  year. 

Street Child Football team

 

The Street Child Football team made Pakistan proud by making it to the final of the World Cup held in Russia in June, ahead of the FIFA World Cup.

The young team lost the final to Uzbekistan after edging out Indonesia 5-4 on penalties in the semi-final.

Captain of the Pakistan team, Mohammad Abdullah, won the award for Player of the Tournament for Boys in the competition.

Ahmed Baig

Nineteen-year-old Ahmed Baig won the Qatar Open Amateur Golf Championship played at the Doha Gulf Club earlier this year.

The youngster, who also won Pakistan’s edition of Faldo Challenge, emerged as the winner in the three-day championship where he played over 54 holes with a score of under 3.

Fakhar Zaman

Fakhar Zaman burst into the Pakistani record books after becoming the first batsman to score a double century for his country in ODIs. He achieved the feat against Zimbabwe, breaking the 21-year record held by Saeed Anwar who had scored 194 against India. 

The 28-year-old became only the sixth batsman in the history of cricket to score a double hundred in 50-overs cricket, after Rohit Sharma, Virender Sehwag, Martin Guptill, Chris Gayle, and Sachin Tendulkar.

Zaman also became the fastest batsman to score 1,000 runs in ODI cricket, and smashed the record of most runs by a batsman in a five-match ODI series held by Zimbabwe's Hamilton Masakadza (467 runs).

Maryam Nasim

 

Pakistani powerlifter based in Australia, Maryam Nasim made headlines earlier this year when she secured a bronze medal at the Avia Powerlifting competition after returning from a back injury.

Maryam, who hails from Peshawar, works as a banker during the day and follows her passion for powerlifting at night.