Pakistan’s top-ranked Judoka Shah Hussain Shah lived up to the hype at National Games winning the Gold medal in the Open weight category for Pakistan Army.
The 2019 South Asian Games gold medallist opened his campaign with a win over Pakistan Navy’s Hamid Ali before easing past WAPDA’s Hafeezullah. Wins over Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Sabir Shah Afridi in the semis and Higher Education Commission’s Abzar Shah in the final sealed the Gold for the Rio Games participant.
Nasima and Hamza Ashiq joined Shah Hussain Shah in winnings Golds for Army at the National Games. The 29-year-old is one of Pakistan’s best hopes for representation at the 2024 Paris Olympics but needs to overcome gigantic odds to make that possible.
Meanwhile, Army moved closer to defending their title as their medal tally continued to swell. Their contingent leads the games with 65 Golds followed by WAPDA 39 with Pakistan Navy in third with 38.
Top podiums in Karate contributed to Army’s growing lead as they won both the men’s and women’s team Kata.
The top two squads also made a quick start in the Tennis event which is taking place at the Pakistan Tennis Federation Complex in Islamabad.
WAPDA, led by Aqeel Khan, reached the quarter-finals with a 2-0 win over Islamabad while Army defeated HEC to reach the next stage. The two teams will be joined by PAF and KPK in the next round.
