Army win 113 golds to stay atop National Games medal table

Pakistan Army powered on at the 35th National Games on Wednesday, clinching 113 gold medals after sweeping titles in athletics, swimming and several team events.

At the conclusion of a pulsating day here, the Pakistan Army were at the summit of the medal standings with 113 gold medals, along with 50 silver and 34 bronze.

Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) remained second in the standings with 46 gold medals, followed by Pakistan Navy in third with 24 top honours.

The action-packed day kicked off with the 42.195km men's marathon, in which Pakistan Navy's Shahbaz Masih clinched the top honour by completing the course — which began at the Quaid-e-Azam Monument and passed through multiple city routes — in 2 hours 25 minutes.

Wapda's Sher Khan finished second, while Pakistan Navy's Shoaib Akhtar secured third place.

Wapda's Faiqa Riaz maintained her exceptional run at the Games by winning the women's long jump with a 5.52-metre leap, completing a hat-trick of gold medals after earlier triumphs in the 100m and 200m events.

Pakistan Army's dominance stretched across athletics as Usman Ali (men's 200m), Mohammad Akhtar (10,000m) and Ismail (400m) added further golds for the department.

Wapda, on the other hand, swept several women's track and field categories, with Uzma Awan winning the hammer throw, Iram Shehzadi prevailing in 1500m, while Ghazala Ramzan triumphing in 100m hurdles.

In swimming, Army's Ahmed Durrani completed the double hat-trick of gold medals, having claimed six laurels for his department after adding victories in the 800m freestyle, 200m freestyle and 200m relay.

Wapda's Hamza Asif broke a national record in the men's 50m breaststroke, while Jehanara Nabi continued her strong performances in women's swimming, and Hareem secured another gold for Sindh.

Pakistan Army also excelled in rowing, winning five golds and one silver, while Pakistan Navy picked up two golds and five silvers.

In women's weightlifting, honours were split, with standout victories for Pakistan Army's Khadija Waheed (69kg) and Sonia Azmat (77kg), and Wapda's Nazia Aslam (86-plus kg) and Nadia Maqsood (86kg).

In shooting, the Pakistan Navy added four more gold medals to their growing tally, while the Pakistan Army bagged two.

Furthermore, Karate events also saw the Pakistan Army maintaining supremacy in both men's and women's categories.

Pakistan Army dominated team sports as well, defeating Wapda to win gold in women's football and women's softball. They enjoyed an unbeaten run in the single-league football format.

Meanwhile, the Squash events have moved into the decisive stage, with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Mahnoor Ali and Pakistan Army's Zainab reaching the women's final, while Wapda's Noor Zaman and Pakistan Army's Huzaifa Ibrahim advanced to the men's singles title match.