Abdul Khaliq | The fastest man of Pakistan's history | The Press

After the partition of the subcontinent, there were several attempts in the political and social arena to normalize relations between Pakistan and India. A similar attempt was made by Ayub Khan in 1960. The Pakistani president hosted the Indo-Pak Games in Lahore to ease relations between the two countries. The event featured several sporting events but millions of people from both countries were watching the 200-meter race. Abdul Khaliq came on the field from Pakistan while Malkha Singh from India. It was the last day of the Games. The president himself came to the stadium to watch the match. The excitement was palpable. The stadium was packed, with people tearing their throats and chanting slogans for the athletes of their homeland. Both the star athletes took to the field with enthusiasm and warmth while millions of people on both sides of the border were also feeling this warmth of emotion. In this emotional atmosphere, the referee raised the pistol in the air and the race began. For a 20-second race, such an atmosphere had never been seen before. Abdul Khaliq was Pakistan's favorite while Malkha Singh was India's favorite. But there could not be two winners of the competition. This day belonged to Malkha Singh and the goddess of fortune was kind to him. He won the race, beating Abdul Khaliq in the last second. On this day, President Ayub Khan gave Malkha Singh, the title of Flying Sikh. The defeated Pakistani athlete Abdul Khaliq took the defeat to heart and the star who brought many medals to this country from athletics track got lost in the darkness of anonymity.
Subedar Abdul Khaliq, the star athlete who won gold medals from the founding of Pakistan in 1947 to 1960, was born on March 23, 1933, in Jund Awan, a small village in Chakwal. Abdul Khaliq started his career as an Army Boy from Attock Army Center. He completed his higher education in the Army. He started his regular sportsman career after being recognized for his performance by the Army Sports Directorate and participated in various international athletics competitions from 1954 to 1960 and always hoisted the green flag. He has represented Pakistan in various international competitions including Asian Games, World Military Championship, Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games and Indo-Pak Games and always won a medal for green shirts. In the second Asian Games held in Manila in 1954, he won the first gold medal for his country which was Pakistan's first international medal in athletics. Abdul Khaliq did not allow difficult situations and lack of facilities to become an excuse in any international event.
While Abdul Khaliq set several records in the 100 and 200 meters races in Asia, he also set a record by winning 36 international and 70 national gold medals and scoring a century of gold medals that may not be broken for the next 100 years. Leo Pinto's record of 10.8 seconds was broken by Abdul Khaliq, after which he was named the fastest man in Asia. In the Indo-Pak Games, Abdul Khaliq set new Asian records in the 100m race in 10.4 seconds and the 200m in 21.4 seconds and won double gold medals for Pakistan. The special guest of the ceremony was Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru who was amazed at the speed of the young man. When the athlete met the Indian Prime Minister at the awards ceremony, he called him "Flying Bird" and Abdul Khaliq's that name became a part of his life. Abdul Khaliq's performance at the Melbourne Olympics in 1956 made him one of the top seven athletes in the world. He competed in the 100-meter, 200-meter, and 4 x 100-meter relay races, impressing Western athletes with his speed and understanding of the game. There was a difference of only one tenth of a second between Abdul Khaliq and Bobby Moore, the gold medalist in final of 100 meter race of 1956 Olympics.
In 1958, former President Ayub Khan awarded the Presidential Award Pride of Performance for the outstanding achievements of The Bird of Asia, which was the first honor for any Pakistani in the field of sports. The shining star of athletics, Flying Bird of Asia, died on March 10, 1988 in CMH Rawalpindi. News of the death of the megastar, who turned down an offer of 200,000 dollars a year for running away from a German club, made headlines in inner pages of newspapers. And so this flying bird of the 50's and 60's stopped in one of the villages of Chakwal from where he started his journey.
#AbdulKhaliq #Fastestman #PakistanHistory #Athlete