Ever since 1947, Pakistan has been represented in the most prestigious of championships and tournaments by iconic sports people. These men and women trained and practiced tirelessly to achieve the highest of ranks (and the most esteemed trophies known to the world of sports). Some men and women have left behind legacies for the world and our nation to remember, whereas others continue working hard to maintain their strong foothold in the arena, only to make our nation proud. To pay tribute to these dynamic personalities, we will highlight the men and women that made it to the international arena with the help of their superb talents!
1. Malik Ata Muhammad Khan: Chief of Kot Fateh Khan & Tent Pegging.
Khan Sahib belongs to a very affluent family and is a proud Ex-Aitchisonian. He won the 1982 World Championship for tent pegging and was widely known for the unique style he had which strongly reflected his roots and origin. In 1983, BBC made a documentary featuring Malik Sahib which was called ‘One Man and his Horse’. Khan Sahib has spent his entire life promoting the art of tent pegging and his love for sports not only in Pakistan, but has made sure his country was represented around the globe.
Sources: Wikia.nocookie.net
2. Arfa Wali & Amina Wali: The Skiing Sisters.
Here is a dynamic sister duo, who are daring to the core and serve as inspiration for all you girls and boys out there. They represent the ‘no boundaries’ ideology and they’re bent upon conquering the highest of peaks. These strong women are professional skiers and belong to the breathtaking landscapes of the Naltar Valley, Gilgit-Baltistan. Arfa, 17, and Amina, 19, both bagged the first ever golden and silver
medals at the South Asian Games in 2011
Sources: Tribune.com.pk
3. Jahangir Khan: The Conqueror of the Court.
Jahangir Khan conquered one court at a time. This amazing player from Pakistan, during his career, won the World Open six times and the British Open a record ten times! He won a total of 555 matches in a row, which was declared to have been the longest winning streak by a top level professional athlete by Guinness World Records. Upon retirement, he served as the president for the World Squash Federation from the year 2002-2008.
Sources: Meanwhileinpakistao
4. Shahnaz Sheikh: The Agile Player.
The forward player was a celebrated sportsman from 1969 to 1978. During those 9 years, he played with such agility that his contemporaries began to fear him in the hockey fields. He was capped an astounding 68 times and scored 45 goals for the Pakistan National Hockey Team. He won the silver medal in 1972 and a Bronze in the 1976 Olympics. Sheikh Sahib won the title in both 1971 and 1978 Field Hockey World Cup and was the runner-up in 1975.
5. Carla Khan: The Female Squash Prodigy.
The daughter of a Junior Squash Champion player, Wasil Khan, Miss Carla received excellent firsthand training from the man himself. Having belonged to a thorough bred sports family, the passion for the game ran in her blood. In her career she has won five prestigious titles of the El Salvador Open 2002, Ottawa Open 2003, Pakistan Open 2005, Iranian Open 2007 and Austrian Open in 2008. It was in the 1999 British open that she played her first tournament after which there was no stopping her. The highest rank that she has been able to attain is that of the 21st, making her a force to be reckoned with!
7. Jansher Khan: The 99 Title Winner.
To be ranked No. 1 for a decade is an achievement in itself, to add to which the fact that this dynamic player won a total of 99 titles. Out of these 99, Jansher Khan won the World Open a record 8 times and the British open at 6, making him one of the most legendary players of his time. Khan Sahib also won the prestigious World Junior Squash Championship title in the year 1986; in the same year, he was awarded for being the youngest player to become Senior World Champion and a professional squash player. We salute Jansher Khan to have left the world speechless with his impeccable skills.
8. Kaleemullah Khan: The Sacramento Republic Player.
Khan is yet another 22 year old prodigy who not only plays for the Pakistan National team, but also for the Sacramento Republic. He scored 35 goals in all competitions, won the league title cup and also qualified for the President’s Cup in which he scored five goals upon reaching the finals. Kaleeumullah won his fourth league and then signed for Dordoi in 2014, where he was an integral player having achieved three major titles; the league title, league cup and the super cup. The young man scored 18 goals and received an award for being the league’s highest top goalscorer. Kaleemullah was then also named as the Best Player of Kyrgyzstan League. To add to his achievements, he was then recruited by the Sacramento Republic.
9. Javed Miandad: The Man Behind the Match.
Javed Miandad is referred to as one of the greatest batsman to have been produced by Pakistan! Born in 1957, the length of his career lasted through 1975 up till 1996. He is widely known for being the nations leading run scorer in test crickets and has been labelled as a legend by ESPN. During his career he was also appointed as the captain of the national team which proved to be quite successful. Miandad achieved the title of being the youngest batsman to score a century on debut at the very young age of 19. He also effortlessly broke George Headley’s record that had lasted 47 years and became the youngest player, at 19, to have scored a double century. One of his most memorable moments is when he hit a six on the last ball against India to win the Austral-Asia Cup in 1986.
10. Kiran Khan: The Gold Medalist Swimmer.
The young athlete is one of the first Pakistani International female swimmers who is also an Olympic atlete. In the locally held 28th National games she won 7 gold medals, 3 silver and 3 bronze medals. She is amongst the very few Pakistani women to have won a gold medal for her nation in the 3rd Islamic Games where she bagged a total of 13 medals out of which 2 were gold. Kiran is also the youngest of swimmers to have competed in the 17th Commonwealth games in the year 2012. We wish you all the luck!
11. Imran Khan: The Cricketer Who Stole our Hearts.
Yet another Aitchisonian, the man emanates an aura of control and impeccable skill; that is exactly what he proved to be made of when he led Pakistan to World Cup glory in 1992. Imran Khan’s career lasted from1971 to 1992, during which he won numerous titles for Pakistan. Khan Sahib assumed captaincy twice and it was during his second tenure, upon the request of the President of that time, that the dynamic man led the team to World Cup victory. In 2010, Imran Khan was inducted into the Cricket Hall of fame.
12. Munir Sadiq: The Professional Sailor.
Born in 1955, Munir Sadiq is an international Pakistani winner who received three gold medals in the Asian Games; his first gold medal was during the esteemed Bangkok Games in 1978 for sailing. In the 1988 Asian Games, he bagged a silver medal at the open enterprise which led him to becoming the first sailor to have won 5 medals at the Asian Games.
13. Baadshah Pehalwan Khan: The National Wrestling Champion.
The 22-year-old first debuted as a trainee in France during 2010, after which he participated in his first professional match in 2012. Baadshah has been trained by excellent coaches for styles such as the lucha libre and European by Flesh Gordon in France. In the United States his training was done by Jesse Hernandez. He has represented Pakistan in the international wrestling arena in notable competitions held in Barcelona, Corsica and Belgium. #beastmod
14. Samina Baig: The First Female Mountaineer.
The young lady is only 25 and has already conquered the highest peak in the world, thereby claiming the title of becoming the first Pakistani woman to have climbed Mount Everest. Not only is she the first Pakistani woman, but she is also the youngest Muslim in the world as she was only 21 at that time. To add to this achievement, Miss Baig is the also the first Muslim woman to have climbed the Seven Summits as well. At a tender age, Samina was the first to climb the peak Chashkin Sar 2010; she became popularly known as Samina Peak.
15. Wasim Akram: The International Fast Bowler.
Wasim Akram is very possibly the greatest Cricket player in history. Known for his skills with both ball and bat, one of Wasim’s notable achievements was during the 2003 Cricket World Cup where he took 12 wickets in 6 matches. He is also the only Pakistani who was named in an all-time Test World XI to mark the 150th anniversary of Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack. Wasim bhai holds numerous records, notable being the most wickets in both ODI and Test by a Pakistani. Oh, and he was part of the winnin 1992 World Cup team 😉
16. John Permal: The Fastest Human of Pakistan.
Born in 1946, John Permal was considered to be the fastest human in Pakistan from the years 1964-1974. In the 1965 National Games, he became Pakistan’s fastest man in Lahore. After that he kept bagging title after title: Rawalpindi in 1967, Dhaka in 1968, Karachi 1970, Nawabshah in 1971 and finally Lahore yet again in 1973. He was one of the most feared sprinters as acclaimed by international media and represented Pakistan with distinctions, in some of the most prestigious competitions such as the Asian Games and then at the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh
17. Naseem Hameed: The Queen of the Track.
The foot and track athlete, born in 1988, won the title of the fastest woman in South Asia after her superb record timing that won her the gold medal in the 100 meters race at the 2010 Asian Games held in Dhaka. Her talent also won her the attention of military coaches which added to her opportunity as that is what led her into representing Pakistan in the 2010 Games. She was appointed as the ambassador of sports based on her performance in the SAF games, by then President Asif Ali Zardari. Her talent has been recognized by many as she now endorses various companies as well
18. Abdul Khaliq: The Flying Bird of Asia.
This title was given to him by Jawarlal Nehru. Born in 1933, Abdul Khaliq bagged 36 gold medals, 15 silver and 12 bronze medals, all in international prestigious competitions. Khaliq Sahib was considered to be one of the greatest and fastest athletes of his time that the world had ever seen. Born in Jand, Abdul Khaliq was amongst the top seven athletes in that particular time as he represented his nation in several competitions like the Olympics and the Asian Games. He was given the much deserved Pride of Performance Award and proved to the world that Milkha Singh was not the ultimate competitor.
19. Amir Khan: Floats Like a Butterfly and Stings Like a Bee (kinda).
So maybe not at Muhammad Ali’s level (yet), but Amir Khan’s achievements in boxing are very impressive. He has made Pakistan proud by winning the World Champion twice and holding titles such as WBA and IBF light welterweight. At the young age of 17, he was awarded the youngest British Olympic boxing silver medalist, to add to which he was ranked as the 8th best pound-for-pound boxer by the International Business Times in 2011. He truly is King Khan as he has managed to conquer the boxing ring, defeating gold medalists and top 9 boxers of the world.
20. Lianna Catherine Swan: The Swan in The Pool.
Miss Swan is based in Bahrain and only began swimming six years ago, representing Pakistan in various competitions. Despite the fact that she has only been swimming professionally for a handful of years, the young lady holds seven national records already. The breaststroke is her forte and out of the twelve medals that she has won, nine have been gold after which she qualified for the Commonwealth Games in 2014.
21. Maria Toorpakay Wazir: The No.1 of Pakistan.
Hailing from South Waziristan, Maria is a proud Pashtun who has gained pride and fame as she is ranked at No.1 throughout the nation. She is one of the three Pakistani women to have been ranked amongst the top 200 in the world as young Wazir is 54th in the world. Miss Maria was awarded the Salaam Pakistan award, in 2007, and was also nominated for the WISPA young player of the year in the same year.
22. Sana Mir: The Female Cricketer Sensation.
This lady is the captain of the national women’s cricket team and has done nothing but do her country immensely proud. She serves as an inspiration to women all over Pakistan as she is ranked 6th in the entire world among ODI bowlers, to add to which Pakistan won two gold medals at two different occasions during the Asian Games. Sana has been in top 20 ICC ranki
23. Aisam Ul Haq:The Pakistani Grand Slam finalist
Aisam-ul-Haq is the only Pakistani to ever reach the final of a grand slam tournament (for now). Aisam is a frequent member of the top 10 WTA rankings as far as doubles tennis is concerned. Even at 35 years of age, Aisam is still going strong and leads the Pakistan Davis Cup team at every occasion. He has also been actively using his sport personality to promote peace as well as he’s a member of “Champions for Peace” club, a group of 54 athletes committed to serving peace in the world through sport. Aisam and his doubles partner Bopanna created a campaign, “Stop War Start Tennis”, with their goal to play a match on the border of India and Pakistan.
24. Abdul Hafeez Kardar: The Father of Cricket.
This iconic man is widely known as the father of cricket as he is one of the three men to have played test cricket for both countries; Pakistan and India. Born in 1925, Abdul Kardar became not only an international cricket player, but also the first captain of the Pakistani cricket team. Before partition, he played for India against England, but post partition he represented Pakistan and its team. One of his most famous victories was the only win against Australia, in Karachi.
25. Salman Ahmad: Mr. Musclemania
Last year, Salman Ahmed became the first Pakistani to win the Musclemania world bodybuilding title in Las Vegas. And he did it all by himself – without managers, coaches, and promoters which his fellow competitors had. Recently, Salman has been in the news because of a personal dilemma: should he give up his career due to a lack of government support and sponsors or should he leave Pakistan to pursue his bodybuilding career?
The people of Pakistan salute these iconic stars for creating history and proving to the world that indeed we are a force to be reckoned with.
