WAPDA win 54th National Athletics Championship; Maria Bibi sets 5,000m record

WAPDA emerged as overall champions of both the men's and women's sections of the 54th National Athletics Championship, which concluded at NED University in Karachi. The team collected 27 gold medals in total.

According to the reports, WAPDA won 17 golds in the men's events and ten in the women's competition. Navy finished second overall with nine gold medals, while the Higher Education Commission (HEC) took third place with eight.

On the final day, Maria Bibi set a national record in the women's 5,000 metres. She clocked 19 minutes and two seconds, improving on the previous mark of 19:04.05 set by Olympian Rabia Ashiq in 2012. WAPDA's Nazia Ehsan took silver in 19:49.50, and HEC's Goonish Batool was third in 20:10.80.

In the men's 200m, WAPDA's Shajar Abbas won in 20.75 seconds. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Attaullah was second in 20.90, and HEC's Haseeb Ahmed took bronze in 21.40. In the women's 200m, HEC's Khaula Umar Khan won in 24.80 seconds, with Sindh's Iqra Riaz second and WAPDA's Malaika Shehzadi third.

Navy's Usman Ghani won the men's high jump with a clearance of 1.96 metres, while WAPDA's Sohail Amir took the men's 5,000m title in 15:16.20.

In the relays, Navy won the men's 4x100m in 42.00 seconds, and WAPDA won the women's event in 48.63. WAPDA also won the men's triple jump and hammer throw, along with several other field events.

Navy's Amtil Rehman was among the standout performers with four gold medals, while Shajar Abbas collected three.

The championship was held under the supervision of the Athletics Federation of Pakistan and organised by the Sindh Athletics Association, with support from Lok Sahaita.