KARACHI: Swimmers from Karachi Grammar School reigned supreme as they broke 30 provincial records in the 60th Sindh Open Boys Swimming Championship which came to a close here at the Karachi Gymkhana on Sunday.
The aspiring youngsters made a splash in the pool during the two-day event with Syed Azlan Sohail leading the way.
The 14-year-old, who dreams of bringing accolades for Pakistan in international events, set a new record in the 100-metre butterfly when he touched in a minute and 02.47 seconds and then went on to break the 400m freestyle record as well with a time of 4:20.63.
“I am looking forward and preparing for the senior national event in March next year,” Azlan, who broke eight national records earlier this month in Lahore, told Dawn. “I want to represent Pakistan internationally but it’s hard to prepare for events as our school doesn’t have proper facilities and a pool which could help us get better.”
Azlan was on a roll as he registered a record in 800m freestyle (8:54.65) and then teamed up with his school-mates Mikail Azfar Mir, Jazim Abbas and Aabir Adnan to shatter the 4x100m relay record in 3:54.96.
Mikail was also among the record-setters as he broke the 100m (1:13.34 sec) and 200m (2:38.53 sec) breaststroke records in the under-14 category.
“Hopefully I get to represent my country in some international events like the Asian Games and maybe the Olympics someday,” the 13-year-old, who idolised American legend Michael Phelps, told Dawn. “I just love the pool and I always like being in the water so that also helps me to train.”
Another KGS swimmer, Ali Mitha also had a remarkable event in the Under-16 category. He set the 100m breaststroke record almost a lap ahead of his opponents, finishing in 1:00.03. His skills were again on display in the 200m breaststroke event as he came home in 2:16.59 sec, another record. He wasn’t done there and registered his name in the books with the 50m butterfly record, finishing in 26.86 seconds.
Another KGS swimmer, Ali Mikael won the 100m breaststroke (1:34.25) in the Under-12 category while his school-mate Shahzain Abbasi finished top in 50m breaststroke (31.47).
Karachi Club’s Burhanuddin Muffadal claimed the Under-8 honours in 25-metre breaststroke and Mustafa Maqbool of Bay View Academy was first in the 50m breaststroke (45.56 sec) of the under-10 category. Mikail S Rafay from Karachi American School won the 50m fly (33.19 sec) in the under-16 category.
Published in Dawn, October 30th, 2023
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