The 28th Boys and 23rd Girls National Age Group Swimming Championships is currently taking place in Lahore, showcasing remarkable young swimming talent from across Pakistan. The event features competitions across four age categories: 10 and under, 12 and under, 14 and under, and 16 and under.
One standout performer is Zayaan Ali Khan from Team Punjab, who made headlines by breaking the national record in the under-10 category for the 50-meter backstroke. He finished with an impressive time of 40.73 seconds, earning the gold medal. Zayaan is notably the son of renowned anchorperson Mansoor Ali Khan, a former champion swimmer and Secretary of the Punjab Swimming Association.
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In the same age group, Mustafa Maqbool from Sindh also made waves by setting national records in the boys’ 10 and under category, clocking 31.60 seconds in the 50m freestyle and 1:12.88 in the 100m freestyle.
In the boys’ 12 and under category, Aban Kashif from Punjab broke the national record in the 200m breaststroke with a time of 3:01.96. His brother, Dayyan Kashif, set a new record in the boys’ 14 and under 200m breaststroke, finishing in 2:40.87. Syed Muhammad Daniyal Hatim from the Army team established a record in the boys’ 16 and under 200m freestyle, completing the race in 2:01.46. Additionally, Team Punjab set a new national record in the boys’ 16 and under 4x100m medley relay, finishing in 4:29.69.
On the girls’ side, Zoya Omair Kazi from Sindh achieved two new national records in the girls’ 12 and under category, with times of 2:53.62 in the 200m individual medley and 3:12.49 in the 200m breaststroke. Hareem Malik, also from Sindh, broke two national records in the girls’ 16 and under category, achieving 5:47.79 in the 400m individual medley and 2:58.91 in the 200m breaststroke.
The championships are proving to be a platform for emerging talent and a showcase of the future of swimming in Pakistan.
