Sport in Pakistan is a significant part of

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

i culture.

Cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

is the most popular sport in

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

has also gained popularity in recent years, and is the second most popular sport in the country.

Field hockey Field hockey (or simply referred to as hockey in some countries where ice hockey is not popular) is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with 11 players in total, made up of 10 field players and a goalk ...

is the

national sport A national sport is a physical activity or sport that is culturally significant or deeply embedded in a nation, serving as a national symbol and an intrinsic element to a nation's identity and culture. Several sovereign states and constituent ...

, and was popular for several decades, with some of Pakistan's greatest sporting accomplishments having taken place in this sport, along with

squash Squash most often refers to: * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (plant), the fruit of vines of the genus ''Cucurbita'' Squash may also refer to: Sports * Squash (professional wrestling), an extr ...

Polo Polo is a stick and ball game that is played on horseback as a traditional field sport. It is one of the world's oldest known team sports, having been adopted in the Western world from the game of Chovgan (), which originated in ancient ...

and

traditional sports Traditional sports and games (often abbreviated TSG) are physical activities which were played for centuries by people around the world prehistory, even before the civilization started, before the Globalization of sports, advent of modern Weste ...

kabaddi Kabaddi (, ) is a contact team sport played between two teams of seven players. It is one of the traditional games of South Asia. In this game, a raider enters the opposing half of the court to touch defenders and attempt to return within 30 ...

and other well-known games are also played. In cricket, the country has had an array of success over the years, and has the distinct achievement of having won each of the major ICC international cricket tournaments:

ICC Cricket World Cup The ICC Men's Cricket World Cup is a quadrennial world cup for cricket in One Day International (ODI) format, organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). The tournament is one of the world's most viewed sporting events and consid ...

ICC World Twenty20 The ICC Men's T20 World Cup, formerly the ICC World Twenty20, is a biennial world cup for cricket in Twenty20 International (T20I) format, organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was held in every odd year from 2007 to 2009, ...

, and

ICC Champions Trophy The ICC Champions Trophy, formerly known as the ICC Knock Out Trophy, is an international One Day International (ODI) cricket tournament organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC) contested by international men's teams. Inaugurat ...

; as well as the

ICC Test Championship The ICC Men's Test Team Rankings (formerly known as the ICC Test Championship) is an international rankings system of the International Cricket Council for the 12 teams that play Test cricket. The rankings are based on international matches th ...

. The

Pakistan Super League The Pakistan Super League (PSL), also known as HBL PSL for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Twenty20 cricket league in Pakistan, organised by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). Founded by the PCB in 2015, the league features six city-bas ...

ranks among the top

T20 leagues Twenty20 (abbreviated T20) is a shortened format of cricket. At the professional level, it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for the inter-county competition. In a Twenty20 game, the two teams have a sing ...

globally.

Football in Pakistan Football is among the most popular team sports in Pakistan, together with long time number one cricket and field hockey. Pakistan's current top domestic football league is the Pakistan Premier League, recognised by the AFC as the official na ...

is as old as the country itself. Shortly after the creation of Pakistan in 1947, the Pakistan Football Federation was created, and the nation's founder

Muhammad Ali Jinnah Muhammad Ali Jinnah (born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 187611 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the inception of Pa ...

became its first Patron-in-Chief. The highest football division in the country is the

Pakistan Premier League The Pakistan Premier League (PPL; ) is a Pakistani semi-professional league for men's football clubs. The top tier of the Pakistan football league system, the PPL operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the PFFL B Division. The ...

. Pakistan is known as one of the best manufacturers of the official

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

ball. In field hockey, Pakistan is one of the most successful national teams with a record four

Hockey World Cup The Men's FIH Hockey World Cup is an international field hockey competition organised by the International Hockey Federation. The tournament was started in 1971. It is held every four years, bridging the four years between the Summer Olympics. ...

wins, eight

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years for athletes of Asia. The Games were regulated by Asian Games Federation from the 1951 Asian Games, first Games in New Delhi, India in 1951, until ...

gold medals, three gold medals in the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

, and the only Asian team to have won the prestigious

Champions Trophy The ICC Champions Trophy, formerly known as the ICC Knock Out Trophy, is an international One Day International (ODI) cricket tournament organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC) contested by international men's teams. Inaugurat ...

, with three championships. Pakistan's

Jahangir Khan Jahangir Khan (Pashto, born 10 December 1963) is a former professional Pakistani squash player. He won the World Open title six times, and the British Open title ten times (1982–1991). He is widely regarded as the greatest squash player ...

is widely regarded as the greatest squash player of all time, followed by his compatriot

Jansher Khan Jansher Khan (Pashto: جان شیر خان; born 15 June 1969) is a Pakistani former professional squash player. During his career, he won the World Open a record eight times and the British Open six times. He was the world's number-one-r ...

. From 1981 to 1986, Jahangir was unbeaten and during that time won 555 consecutive matches – the longest winning streak by any athlete in top-level professional sport, as recorded by ''

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, list ...

''. In

Northern Pakistan Northern Pakistan ( ) is a tourism region in northern and north-western parts of Pakistan, comprising the administrative units of Gilgit-Baltistan (formerly known as '' Northern Areas''), Azad Kashmir, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Islamabad Capita ...

, the annual Shandur Polo Festival at

Shandur Top Shandur Pass() is a pass located on the boundary of district Chitral, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan and Gilgit-Baltistan, a disputed territory within the larger region of Kashmir. Historically part of Gilgit-Baltistan; however, recent Khyber ...

is an international event attended by enthusiasts from all over the world. The Shandur polo ground at Shandur Pass is the world's highest, at approximately . Pakistan's sporting prowess has declined sharply in recent years, while cricket remains widely popular, other sports have suffered due to neglect from both the government and sporting authorities. The corporatization of sports in Pakistan has led to a lack of investment in nurturing talented athletes and providing adequate facilities and training. Government patronage and funding for sports are at an all-time low, resulting in outdated equipment, obsolete training methods, and dilapidated sports infrastructure. The focus on cricket has overshadowed other sports, exacerbating the decline across various disciplines. The

Pakistan Sports Board Pakistan Sports Board () was established under the Ministry of Education in 1962 as a corporate body for the purposes of promoting and developing uniform standards of competition for sports in Pakistan comparable to the standards prevailing inter ...

was established in 1962 as a corporate body to promote and develop uniform standards of competition in sports in Pakistan, and regulating and controlling sports in Pakistan on a national basis. The Pakistan Sports Board is supported by the Pakistan Sports Trust, which assists hard-up players and associations so they can continue participating in sports in the

World Games The World Games are an international multi-sport event comprising sports and sporting disciplines that are not contested in the Olympic Games. They are usually held every four years, one year after a Summer Olympic Games, over the course of 11 d ...

, and

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

National participation

, the founder of Pakistan, had a great love for the sport and fully realized the vital role it played in the development of nations and the inculcation of discipline among the masses. In a meeting with the Organizing Committee of the First Pakistan Olympic Games held at

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

, Jinnah told the first President of the

Pakistan Olympic Association Pakistan Olympic Association (POA), also known as the National Olympic Committee of Pakistan (NOC; , acronym: POA), is the national Olympic organization in Pakistan. It was established in 1948 to oversee the active participation of the newly ind ...

, Ahmed E.H.: The first National Games were held at Polo Ground,

from 23 to 25 April 1948. Sportsmen and officials from

East Pakistan East Pakistan was the eastern province of Pakistan between 1955 and 1971, restructured and renamed from the province of East Bengal and covering the territory of the modern country of Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Burma, wit ...

(now

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

) and all the integrated Provincial units of

West Pakistan West Pakistan was the western province of Pakistan between One Unit, 1955 and Legal Framework Order, 1970, 1970, covering the territory of present-day Pakistan. Its land borders were with Afghanistan, India and Iran, with a maritime border wit ...

took part in these games. The total number of athletes was 140. No competitors were, however, invited from any foreign country. Competitions were held in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

cycling Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

weightlifting Weightlifting or weight lifting generally refers to physical exercises and sports in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells, barbells or machines. People engage in weightlifting for a variety of different reasons. These can ...

, and

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

. Over the years, Pakistan has been held back due to the lack of funds placed in sports. Many facilities are substandard, causing Pakistan to fall behind other nations. In its early years, the young state had been able to compete with much success, but during the late 1970s, with the government no longer investing in athletics, the country could no longer compete. However, since the late 1990s, this trend has changed. Money is now being placed into sports, and many of the federations are now managed by people who are trying to push Pakistani sportsmen and -women forward. International tournaments are now hosted in the country, and the nation sends athletes to compete abroad. There has also been a restructuring of national tournaments, and new facilities and equipment are being provided. This has seen overall results improve. On March 3, 2009, 12 militants with

guns A gun is a device that propels a projectile using pressure or explosive force. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns or cannons), or gas (e.g. light-gas gun). Solid projectiles may be ...

grenades A grenade is a small explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade g ...

, and

rocket launchers A rocket launcher is a weapon that launches an rocket (weapon), unguided, rocket-propelled projectile. History The earliest rocket launchers documented in History of China#Ancient China, imperial China consisted of arrows modified by the a ...

attacked a

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...

carrying the

Sri Lanka national cricket team The Sri Lanka men's national cricket team, (; ) nicknamed The Lions, represents Sri Lanka in men's international cricket. It is a full Member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) with Test cricket, Test, One-Day International (ODI) and T ...

to a match at

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

Gaddafi Stadium Gaddafi Stadium formerly known as Lahore Stadium, is a cricket stadium in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab, Pakistan, owned by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). With a capacity of 34,000, it is the List of cricket grounds in Pakistan, largest c ...

in Pakistan. Six Pakistani

policemen A police officer (also called policeman or policewoman, cop, officer or constable) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, ''police officer'' is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of t ...

escorting the team and two

civilians A civilian is a person who is not a member of an armed force. It is illegal under the law of armed conflict to target civilians with military attacks, along with numerous other considerations for civilians during times of war. If a civilian enga ...

were killed while seven Sri Lankan players and an assistant

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

were injured. Since the

terrorist attacks The following is a list of terrorist incidents that were not carried out by a state or its forces (see state terrorism and state-sponsored terrorism). Assassinations are presented in List of assassinations and unsuccessful attempts at List o ...

, no foreign cricket teams toured Pakistan until 2015 when Zimbabwe toured for an away series. A month after the attack on the Sri Lankan team, the

International Cricket Council The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the global Sports governing body, governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from Australia, England, and South Africa. In 1965, the body wa ...

relieved Pakistan of co-hosting duty for any

2011 Cricket World Cup The 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup was the tenth Cricket World Cup. It was played in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, while the latter hosted World Cup matches for the first time. India won the tournament, defeating Sri Lanka by six wickets in the 2 ...

games. Pakistan has tried to make the best of the situation by offering to host its "home" matches on

neutral territory Border control comprises measures taken by governments to monitor and regulate the movement of people, animals, and goods across land, air, and maritime borders. While border control is typically associated with international borders, it als ...

in the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

. However, due to a decrease in terrorism in Pakistan over the past few years, as well as an increase in security, many teams have toured Pakistan since 2015. These teams include

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and an ICC World XI team. In addition, the

has seen games hosted in Pakistan. The Pakistan Sports Board is a government institution whereas the Pakistan Olympic Association is working under the shelter of the International Olympic Committee. Due to government interference, the Pakistan Olympic Association is very close to getting a ban from participation in the Olympic Games. Due to the Cold War, Pakistani sports is also suffering but, there is no hope of resolving this problem due to government-level dictatorship.

Team sports

Cricket

is the most popular sport in Pakistan. Pakistan has won international cricket events, which include the

1992 Cricket World Cup The 1992 Cricket World Cup (known as the Benson & Hedges World Cup 1992 for sponsorship reasons) was the fifth Cricket World Cup, the premier One Day International cricket tournament for men's national teams, organised by the International Cric ...

, the

2009 ICC World Twenty20 The 2009 ICC World Twenty20 was the second edition of the Men's T20 World Cup, formerly known as the ICC World Twenty20 that took place in England in June 2009. As before, the tournament featured 12 male teams – nine of the ten Test cricket, ...

and the

2017 ICC Champions Trophy The 2017 ICC Champions Trophy was the eighth edition of the ICC Champions Trophy, a quadrennial One Day International (ODI) cricket tournament organized by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was held in England and Wales from 1 to 18 J ...

besides finishing as runner-up in the

1999 Cricket World Cup The 1999 ICC Cricket World Cup, also branded as England '99, was the seventh edition of the Cricket World Cup, organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was hosted primarily by England, with selected matches also played in Wales, ...

2007 ICC World Twenty20 The 2007 ICC World Twenty20 was the inaugural edition of the Men's T20 World Cup, formerly known as the ICC World Twenty20 that was contested in South Africa from 11 to 24 September 2007. Twelve teams took part in the thirteen-day tournament� ...

and the

2022 T20 World Cup The 2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup was the eighth edition of the Men's T20 World Cup, formerly known as the ICC World Twenty20. It was played in Australia from 16 October to 13 November 2022. In the final, England beat Pakistan by five wickets to ...

. Pakistan also won the ACC Asia Cup in

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

and

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

and all three versions of the

Austral-Asia Cup The Austral-Asia Cup was a One Day International cricket tournament held at Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. The Arab millionaire Abdur Rahman Bukhathir brought cricket initially to Sharjah in the mid-1980s and organized a multi-nation one-day tourn ...

. Pakistan's cricket teams take part in domestic competitions such as the

Quaid-e-Azam Trophy The Quaid-e-Azam Trophy is a domestic first-class cricket competition in Pakistan. With few exceptions, it has been staged annually since it was first played during the 1953–54 season. Domestic cricket in Pakistan has undergone many reorganis ...

, the

Patron's Trophy The President's Trophy (formerly Patron's Trophy) is a cricket competition that is held in Pakistan. It was previously held between 1960–61 and 2018–19 but was refounded from the 2023–24 season. It consists of teams representing the governm ...

, ABN-AMRO Twenty-20 Cup, and the ABN-AMRO Champions Trophy.

Pakistan Cricket Board The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), formerly known as Board of Control for Cricket in Pakistan (BCCP), is a sports governing body for cricket in Pakistan responsible for controlling and organising all tours and matches undertaken by the Pakistan ...

also organize a franchise based T20 cricket league known as the

. International

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film) ...

and one-day matches are played between the

Pakistan national cricket team The Pakistan men's national cricket team represents Pakistan in international cricket. It is controlled by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), the governing body for cricket in Pakistan, which is a Full Member of the International Cricket Counc ...

and foreign opponents regularly.

Women's cricket Women's cricket is the team sport of cricket when played by woman, women. Its Laws of cricket, rules are almost identical to those in the game played by men, the main change being the use of a smaller cricket ball, ball. Women's cricket is b ...

is also very popular, with Kiran Baluch holding the current record for the highest score in a women's test match with her innings of 242. The

controls both the men's and women's games. The

2020 Pakistan Super League 2020 Pakistan Super League (also known as PSL 5 or for sponsorship reasons as HBL PSL 2020) was the fifth season of the Pakistan Super League, a franchise Twenty20 cricket league which was established by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in 2015. ...

events was hosted entirely by Pakistan. Notable cricketers from Pakistan include

Aaqib Javed Aaqib Javed (Urdu: ; born 5 August 1972) is a Pakistani former international cricketer and the current head coach of Pakistani cricket team in all formats. He is also a member of the Men's National Selection Committee of the Pakistan Cricket B ...

Ramiz Raja 'Ramiz Hasan Raja (; born 14 August 1962) is a Pakistani cricket sports commentator and former cricketer who served as the 36th Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) from 2021 to 2022. He played international cricket for the Pakistan na ...

Babar Azam Mohammad Babar Azam (Urdu, ; ; born 15 October 1994) is a Pakistani international cricketer and a former Captain (cricket), captain of the Pakistan national cricket team , national team in all three formats of the game. A right-handed top-orde ...

Shoaib Akhtar Shoaib Akhtar (; born 13 August 1975) is a Pakistani former international cricketer and commentator. Nicknamed the "Rawalpindi Express", he is the fastest bowler in cricketing history, with an unbeaten 161.3 kmph (100.23 mph) delivery. Akht ...

Younis Khan Mohammad Younis Khan PP SI (Urdu: ; Pashto: ; born 29 November 1977) is a Pakistani professional cricket coach and former cricketer and captain of the Pakistan national cricket team in all three formats of the game, and is widely regarded as o ...

Saqlain Mushtaq Saqlain Mushtaq (born 29 December 1976) is a Pakistani cricket coach and former international cricketer who was the head coach of the Pakistani national cricket team between 2021 and 2022. He is best known for pioneering the " doosra", a leg b ...

, Mushtaq Ahmed,

Abdul Qadir Abd al-Qadir or Abdulkadir () is a male Muslim given name. It is formed from the Arabic words '' Abd'', ''al-'' and '' Qadir''. The name means 'servant of who can do everything'. ''Al-Qādir'' is one of the names of Allah in the Qur'an, which ...

Wasim Akram Wasim Akram (Punjabi language, Punjabi, ; born 3 June 1966) is a Pakistani cricket commentator, Coach (sport), coach, and former cricketer and captain (cricket), captain of the Pakistan national cricket team. Akram is regarded as one of the ...

Zaheer Abbas Syed Zaheer Abbas Kirmani PP, (in Punjabi and Urdu: سید ظہیر عباس کرمانی; born 24 July 1947), popularly known as Zaheer Abbas, is a Pakistani former cricketer. He is among the few professional cricketers who used to wear spect ...

Javed Miandad Mohammad Javed Miandad PP SI (; born 12 June 1957), popularly known as Javed Miandad (; ), is a Pakistani cricket coach, commentator and former cricketer known for his unconventional style of captaincy and batting. ESPNcricinfo described him ...

Saeed Anwar Saeed Anwar (; born 6 September 1968) is a Pakistani former cricketer and a former captain for Tests and ODIs. An opening batsman and occasional slow left arm orthodox bowler, Anwar played international cricket between 1989 and 2003. Consid ...

, Muhammad Yousaf,

Inzamam-ul-Haq Syed Inzamam-ul-Haq Sitara-e-Imtiaz, SI (; born 3 March 1970), also known as Inzi, is a former Pakistan cricketer and captain of Pakistan national cricket team. He is regarded as one of the greatest players Pakistan has produced and one of the ...

Waqar Younis Waqar Younis Maitla HI ( Punjabi, ; born 16 November 1971) is a Pakistani cricket coach, commentator and former cricketer who captained Pakistan national cricket team. A right-arm fast bowler, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest bowle ...

Shahid Afridi Sahibzada Mohammad Shahid Khan Afridi (, ; born 1 March 197is a Pakistani former cricketer and captain of the Pakistan national cricket team. An all-rounder, Afridi was a right-handed leg spinner and a right-handed batsman. Afridi made ...

, the Mohammad brothers (

Hanif In Islam, the terms (; , ) and (; ) are primarily used to refer to pre-Islamic Arabians who were Abrahamic monotheists. Muslims regard these people favorably for shunning Arabian polytheism and instead solely worshipping the God of Abraha ...

, Mushtaq,

Sadiq Sadiq may refer to: Places * Sadiq (town), Faridkot district, Punjab, India Punjab () is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. Forming part of the larger Punjab, Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, the ...

and Wazir) and

Imran Khan Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi (born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician, philanthropist, and former cricketer who served as the 19th prime minister of Pakistan from August 2018 until April 2022. He was the founder of the political party Pak ...

. Imran Khan has been named in the

ICC Cricket Hall of Fame The ICC Cricket Hall of Fame recognises "the achievements of the legends of the game from cricket's long and illustrious history". It was launched by the International Cricket Council (ICC) in Dubai on 2 January 2009, in association with the Fe ...

. Saeed Anwar's 194 runs against

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

remained the record for most runs by a batsman in an ODI for 11 years which was broken by Fakhar Zaman's 210 against

in 2018. Shoaib Akhtar holds the record of delivering the fastest delivery in the history of cricket. Shahid Afridi holds numerous records i.e. the 3rd fastest century in ODIs, and the highest number of sixes in international cricket. Wasim Akram at the time of his retirement had taken the most wickets in ODIs. Muhammad Yousuf has scored the most Test runs in a calendar year.

Field hockey

The

Pakistan Hockey Federation The Pakistan Hockey Federation () is the governing body for the sport of field hockey in Pakistan. It is affiliated with the International Hockey Federation (FIH), Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) and Pakistan Sports Board (PSB). Management posit ...

(PHF) is the national governing body of field hockey in Pakistan. The Pakistan Hockey Federation Women Wing (PHFWW) is the official organization of

women's field hockey Field hockey (or simply referred to as hockey in some countries where ice hockey is not popular) is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with 11 players in total, made up of 10 field players and a goal ...

in Pakistan. The

Pakistan national field hockey team The Pakistan men's national field hockey team () represents Pakistan in international field hockey. Having played its first match in 1948, it is administered by the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF), the governing body for hockey in Pakistan. ...

has won 3 gold medals at the

, and lifted the

4 times, being the country with most World Cups till the present. It has also won the most Asian gold medals and is the only Asian team to have won the prestigious

with 3 titles. It used to be consistently ranked among the top teams in the world. However, lately, there has been a decline in results, with the national team failing to qualify for both the 2016 and 2020 Olympics. The hockey team also failed to qualify for the 2023 World Cup. Also, because of the PHF's poor economy, there were two years without any international matches between 2019 and 2021. PHF secretary lamented over lack of funding could even ban Pakistan hockey team. As of December 2022 the team is ranked 16th in the world. Notable players include World-Record holder

Waseem Ahmad Waseem Ahmad (Punjabi, Urdu: وسیم احمد) (born 10 April 1977, in Vehari, Punjab, Pakistan) is a Pakistani former field hockey player and ex-captain of the Pakistan hockey team.Mohammed Saqlain, and

Sohail Abbas Sohail Abbas, (born 9 June 1977) is a former professional field hockey player from Pakistan who played as a full-back for the Pakistan men's national field hockey team. Regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, he is the all-time sec ...

. In May 2024, Pakistan qualified for the final of the 30th Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey 30th Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Cup 2024 trophy 2024 trophy in Ipoh, Malaysia.

Football

Pakistan lineup during 1997 SAFF Gold Cup

Pakistan is known as the manufacturer of the official

ball. The

Pakistan Football Federation The Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) is the national governing body of association football in Football in Pakistan, Pakistan. It is a member of FIFA, the international governing body of Association football, football, and affiliated to the A ...

(PFF) is the governing body in Pakistan. The origin of football in Pakistan can be traced back to the mid-nineteenth century when the game was introduced during the

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

. Shortly after the creation of Pakistan in 1947, the

was created, and

became its first Patron-in-Chief. From 1948 to 2003, the National Football Championship was held in Pakistan. After 2003, it was replaced by the

. However, due to the lack of professional football clubs, football was mainly held on amateur basis. As the global popularity of football surged, the sport’s standing in Pakistan deteriorated. Some of the reasons for this decline was the administration’s lack of attention to football and the

departmental system "Departmental" is a 1980 Australian TV movie based on a play by Mervyn Rutherford. It was part of the ABC's '' Australian Theatre Festival''.Ed. Scott Murray, ''Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995'', Oxford Uni Press, 1996 p43 Reviews were p ...

running in Pakistan, which was abolished in other countries after the 1960s. However Lahore based

Wohaib FC Hafiz Wohaib Butt Memorial Football Club (), commonly known as Wohaib FC, is a professional association football, football club based in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab, Pakistan. The club last competed in the 2020 PFF League, the second tier of ...

emerged as a leading club of the country in the early 1990s and became the first Pakistani club to pass the qualifying round of the

Asian Club Championship The AFC Champions League Elite (abbreviated as the ACL Elite) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious cl ...

, doing so in the 1992–93 edition. The Pakistan Football Federation also faced several bans by

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

during the years. Nonetheless, the sport gained popularity in the 21st century. The

Pakistan National Football Challenge Cup The PFF National Challenge Cup is an annual single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in men's domestic Football in Pakistan, Pakistani football within the Pakistan football league system. It is organized ...

is the national "knockout" cup competition in Pakistani football, run by the Pakistan Football Federation. The Pakistan National Women's Football Championship is the annual women's championship.

Australian Rules Football

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

was established in Pakistan in 2014 with support from the Australian High Commission.The Rise and Rise of Australian Rules Football in Pakistan Part 1
by Michael Gallus for Daily Times Pakistan 7 August 2020 The governing body is the Australian Rules Football Federation of Pakistan. Teams were established in

Islamabad Islamabad (; , ; ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's tenth-most populous city with a population of over 1.1 million and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Bu ...

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, third-largest city in the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is a commercial and industrial hub, being the list of cities in P ...

Multan Multan is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, fifth-most populous city in the Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab province of Pakistan. Located along the eastern bank of the Chenab River, it is the List of cities in Pakistan by populatio ...

, and

Gujranwala Gujranwala is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, fourth most-populous city in the Pakistani province of Punjab. Located in northern-central Punjab's Rachna Doab, it serves as the headquarters of its Gujranwala District, epony ...

. It is currently strongest in the

Swat Valley Swat District (), also known as the Swat Valley, is a district in the Malakand Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Known for its stunning natural beauty, the district is a popular tourist destination. With a population of 2,687,384 per th ...

, where a large competition operates and draws large enthusiastic crowds. A women's team was formed in 2017. A major national tournament was organized in 2018. Australia sent a coach to assist Pakistan in 2019 however the sport's rapid growth in popularity was greatly outpacing local officials ability to support it. 10 of Pakistan's more than 15 clubs contested the 2021 AFL Pakistan National Championships in Islamabad.AFL Pakistan announce National Champs
for 2021 from AFL Asia 1 December 2021 Pakistan sent a team to the Asian Championship in 2022, however met some roadblocks to participation due to funding. Despite challenges sending a team, it won the Division 3 title. In 2022 AFL Asia reported that Pakistan was the largest and fastest growing nation for the sport in Asia with over 5,000 players with a 45% annual increase in participation. The Pakistan national side are known as the ''Dragoons''.

Ball hockey

The

Pakistan national ball hockey team Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. Islamabad is the nat ...

is primarily composed of Canadian Pakistanis, born in Canada or with links to that nation. The sport is growing in the South Asian community there. Pakistan competed for the first time at the World Championships in

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

. They finished 3rd out of 4 in Group B behind only Bermuda and ice hockey giants Finland, and ahead of Cayman Islands. In the next world championships, they also participated and were champions of their group after defeating France in extra time. The

is developing and improving, and in 2013 were awarded Pool A status, competing for gold in

St. John's, Newfoundland St. John's is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. The city spans and is the easternmost city in North Amer ...

Baseball

Pakistan Federation Baseball has hosted the

Asian Baseball Cup The Asia Baseball Cup, formerly the Asian Baseball Cup is a baseball tournament organized by WBSC Asia. It is a second-level tournament to the Asian Baseball Championship. In 2012, the Asian Baseball Cup was divided into two separate divisions, Eas ...

several times, with the national team also winning the tournament in several editions. The team won the first SAARC Baseball Championship in 2011. The team qualified for the

World Baseball Classic The World Baseball Classic (WBC), also referred to as the Classic, is an international baseball tournament sanctioned by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), the sport's global governing body, and organized in World Baseball Clas ...

qualifier round for the first time where they lost 0–10 against

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

and 0–14 while competing against

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

Basketball

Basketball was introduced to Pakistan around 1900 and is especially popular in

and

. The

Pakistan Basketball Federation The Pakistan Basketball Federation (PBF) is the national governing body responsible for the promotion and development of basketball in Pakistan. Established in 1952, the PBF oversees the sport's growth across the country. Brig. (R) M. Iftikhar ...

has been part of

FIBA The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French language, French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. FIBA defines the rules of basketball, specifies the Basketball equipment ...

since 1958. Six teams play in the Pakistan first division. The National Women's Basketball Championship is the Women's Basketball tournament.

Handball

Handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...

was first played in 1984 in an exhibition event, and was taken up by the

. The Pakistan Handball Federation is a member of the Asia Handball Federation. The Pakistan men's national handball team is one of the most successful handball team of

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

, winning 2 gold and 1 silver medal at the

South Asian Games The South Asian Games is a quadrennial multi-sport event held among athletes from South Asia. The South Asia Olympic Council, which was formed in 1983, governs it. The Games consist of seven countries, namely Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, N ...

. Pakistan won gold in the 2010 and

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

edition of the South Asian Games beating

by 37–31 and 30–29 respectively. In the 2016 edition, Pakistan unfortunately lost to the hosts India, score being 32–31.

Beach Handball

beach handball Beach handball is a team sport where two teams pass and bounce or roll a ball, trying to throw it in the goal of the opposing team. The game is similar to standard handball, but it is played on sand instead of on a solid floor. Because the ball ...

, Pakistan has won the

Asian Championship An Asian Championship is a top level international sports competition between Asian athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. List of championships (Summer Olympic Sports) ;Aquatics and wate ...

in 2007 and

Asian Beach Games The Asian Beach Games, also known as ABG, is a multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games have been organized by the Olympic Council of Asia. The Games are described as the second or third largest Asian m ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

. Pakistan national beach handball team made their debut in IHF

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

at the 2008 edition, finishing at 10th position. Pakistan have won a total of 8 official international medals to professional and grassroots level selections, with one gold and silver medal along with three bronze medals in the

beach handball tournaments held in Bali 2008, Muscat 2010, Haiyang 2012, Phuket 2014 and Danang 2016, respectively.

Ice hockey

Pakistan has an

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

team but it is not part of the

IIHF The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF; ; ) is a worldwide governing body for ice hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 84 member countries. The IIHF maintains the IIHF World Ranking based on international ice hockey tourn ...

. Pakistan applied for membership but the congress postponed it until it had a better structure. However, Pakistan has deep roots in

in the northern parts of

Gilgit-Baltistan Gilgit-Baltistan (; ), formerly known as the Northern Areas, is a region administered by Pakistan as an administrative units of Pakistan, administrative territory and consists of the northern portion of the larger Kashmir region, which has b ...

province.

The first hockey game in Pakistan took place in December 2018 in Naltar between the

Pakistan Air Force The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) (; ) is the aerial warfare branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces, tasked primarily with the aerial defence of Pakistan, with a secondary role of providing air support to the Pakistan Army and Pakistan Navy when re ...

and

Gilgit Scouts The Gilgit Scouts was a paramilitary force within the Gilgit-Baltistan region in northern Pakistan. They were raised by the British Raj in 1913, to assist the Gilgit-based British Political Agent in managing Gilgit Agency which formed the northe ...

. Baltistan Ice Hockey Championship 2022 was held in Skardu on January 25-26, with teams named after glaciers, to raise awareness about

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

Rugby union

The

Pakistan Rugby Union The Pakistan Rugby Union (PRU) is the rugby union governing body in Pakistan. It is in charge of the Pakistan national team. Also among the Union's chief activities are conferences, organising international matches, and educating and training pla ...

was formally established in 2000 and gained memberships with the

Asian Rugby Football Union Asia Rugby, formerly the Asian Rugby Football Union, is the governing body of rugby union in Asia under the authority of World Rugby. Founded in 1968 by eight charter nations, the Union today has 36 member unions in countries across Asia, stretch ...

in 2000. In 2003, Pakistan fielded a

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

for the first time, participating in the Provincial Tournament in Sri Lanka. In November 2004, it participated in the 19th Asian Championship in Hong Kong. The Pakistan Rugby Union then became an associate member of the

International Rugby Board World Rugby is the governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international competit ...

(IRB). There are three major clubs in Pakistan, which include

Islamabad Rugby Football Club Islamabad Rugby Football Club also known as the JINNS is a rugby football club from Islamabad, Pakistan. It was founded in 1992 by a group of expatriates, as a registered club. The club enjoyed support among its members both local and expatriate ...

(IRFC) also known as the "JINNS",

Lahore Rugby Football Club Lahore Rugby Football Club is a Division I Pakistani rugby union club based in Lahore, Pakistan. In 2012, it was one of three Pakistani clubs - the others being Islamabad Rugby Football Club and LUMS Rugby Football Club - to participate in the D ...

(LRFC), and Karachi Rugby Football Club (KRFC). The latest landmark for Pakistan rugby is that universities like Lahore University of Management and Sciences (LUMS) and Bahria University Islamabad have formed teams as well.

Volleyball

Volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

enjoys huge popularity in small towns and villages across Pakistan, particularly in the northern province of

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ; , ; abbr. KP or KPK), formerly known as the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Northern Pakistan, northwestern region of the country, Khyber ...

. Most players of the Pakistani volleyball team hail from this region. The team is ranked within the top 50 volleyball nations by FIVB and has won two

Central Asian Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

titles, and a bronze medal at the

1962 Asian Games The 1962 Asian Games () also known as the 4th Asian Games, IV Asiad, and Jakarta 1962, were the fourth edition of pan-Asian multi-sport event sanctioned by the Asian Games Federation (AGF). The games were held from 24 August to 4 September 1962, ...

Pakistan Volleyball Federation Pakistan Volleyball Federation (PVF) is the national governing body responsible for developing and promoting volleyball in the country. Established in 1955, the PVF has since organised volleyball activities at the national level. It is affiliat ...

is the governing body of Volleyball in Pakistan.

Equestrian sports

Equestrianism Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding ( Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the ...

had traditionally been limited to the upper-echelon of Pakistani society up until the end of the 20th century. This resulted in private sponsorship and government funding (PST) for the sport. Pakistan Eventing was launched in July 2005 in partnership with The Equestrian & Tent Pegging Federation of Pakistan in an attempt to qualify Pakistan for its first Olympic equestrian qualification.

Polo

is believed to have originated in

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

, and continues to be an important sport within the country with several large annual competitions. The annual Shandur Polo Festival at

Chitral District Chitral District (; ) was a district in the Malakand Division of the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, from 14 August 1947 to 2018. It was the largest district in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, covering an area of 14,850 km2, before spl ...

is an international event attended by enthusiasts from all over the world. The Shandur polo ground at Shandur Pass is the world's highest, at approximately . The governing body of

polo in Pakistan Sport in Pakistan is a significant part of Pakistani culture. Cricket is the most popular sport in Pakistan. Association football, Football has also gained popularity in recent years, and is the second most popular sport in the country. Field h ...

is the

Pakistan Polo Association The Pakistan Polo Association (PPA) is the Sports governing body, governing body for polo in Pakistan, responsible for promoting and organising the sport nationwide. Established in 1947 as the successor to the Indian Polo Association, the PPA is ...

. There are more than twenty-one polo clubs in Pakistan and over forty polo championships held all over the country every year. Pakistan has qualified for the preliminary rounds of the

World Polo Championship The World Polo Championship is an international polo competition between countries. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, the Federation of International Polo (FIP), and is contested by the national teams. There is no restriction ...

three times. Pakistan's

Hissam Ali Haider Hissam Ali Hyder born March 7, 1982, in Lahore, is a +6 goal Pakistani polo Polo is a stick and ball game that is played on horseback as a traditional field sport. It is one of the world's oldest known team sports, having been adopted ...

is the highest cap played in the Asian circuit. He has played for

Cartier Cartier may refer to: People * Cartier (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * Cartier Martin (born 1984), American basketball player Places * Cartier Island, an island north-west of Australia that is part of Australi ...

in the St. Moritz Snow Polo World Cup and the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

team in the Royal Salute Coronation Cup, both of which were won by his team.

Tent pegging

Tent pegging Tent pegging (sometimes spelled tent-pegging or tentpegging) is a cavalry sport of ancient origin, and is one of only ten equestrian disciplines officially recognised by the International Equestrian Federation. Used narrowly, the term refers ...

is a popular sport in Pakistan. It is also locally named ''neza bazi''. The Equestrian & Tent Pegging Federation of Pakistan, formed in 2014, is the highest governing body who organizes the sport in Pakistan. Various clubs across the country also organize an event as well. The sport is the major event of the National Horse & Cattle Show held at Fortress Stadium Lahore. Pakistanis compete in various international events notably the World Cup which commenced in 2014.

Malik Ata Muhammad Khan Malik Ata Muhammad Khan (Urdu, , 25 October 1937 – 6 February 2020), popularly known as Prince Malik Ata was a Pakistani feudal lord and politician. He was the chief of Kot Fateh Khan in Attock District of North Western Punjab, Pakistan. He wa ...

is one of the founders of

International Tent Pegging Federation The International Tent Pegging Federation (ITPF, ), formerly known as the World Tent Pegging Federation is the international Sport governing body, governing body of the Equestrianism, Equestrian discipline of tent pegging. The ITPF is responsible ...

to address the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI), where he also served as Vice President.

Racquet sports

Badminton

The Pakistan national badminton team represents Pakistan in international

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racket (sports equipment), racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net (device), net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per s ...

team competitions. It is controlled by the Pakistan Badminton Federation, the governing body for badminton in

. The national team was established in 1953. In

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

, Pakistan participated in the World Championships organized by the WBF, which was a rival body of the

Badminton World Federation The Badminton World Federation, aka BWF, is the international governing body for the sport of badminton approved by the International Olympic Committee. It was founded on 5 July 1934 as the International Badminton Federation with nine member ...

that would later cease its operation on May 26, 1981, and merged with the

International Badminton Federation The Badminton World Federation, aka BWF, is the international sports governing body, governing body for the sport of badminton approved by the International Olympic Committee. It was founded on 5 July 1934 as the International Badminton Federat ...

(now known as

or BWF). They won a bronze and a silver at the event, in men's team and men's singles. Pakistan had only appeared in the international stage three times as they were eliminated in the group stage in the

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

and

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

edition of the

Sudirman Cup The Sudirman Cup is an international badminton mixed team competition contested by member countries of the Badminton World Federation, the sport's global governing body. The championship has been awarded every two years since the inaugural tourn ...

. The nation would make its first badminton debut in the

Olympics The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competit ...

when national player

Mahoor Shahzad Mahoor Shahzad (born 17 October 1996) is a Pakistani badminton player. She has competed at the 2014 Asian Games, and also at the 2018 and 2022 Commonwealth Games. She represented Pakistan at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo after receiving a ...

represented the country in the women's singles discipline. The team would later participate in the

2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England betw ...

mixed team event through a bipartite invitation. Pakistan earned its first Olympic Badminton Qualification after receiving a tripartite invitation for the

2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

. Thus,

became the first Pakistani badminton player to compete at the Olympic Games.

Squash

Squash Squash most often refers to: * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (plant), the fruit of vines of the genus ''Cucurbita'' Squash may also refer to: Sports * Squash (professional wrestling), an extr ...

is a popular sport that has a large following in Pakistan, with Pakistan dominating the sport for some time. The World Open professional championship was inaugurated in 1976 and serves as the main competition today.

won the World Open eight times, and the

British Open The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

six times. From 1990 until 1996, he remained unbeaten in 81 matches for consecutive six years. This longest-winning matches streak in Squash history was recorded by

.Jansher undergoes double back surgery successfully
Dawn (newspaper), Published 1 August 2020, Retrieved 8 September 2020

won the World Open title six times, and the

title ten times (1982–1991), and is widely regarded as the greatest squash player of all time, and one of the greatest sportsmen in Pakistan history. From 1981 to 1986, Khan was unbeaten and during that time won 555 consecutive matches – the longest winning streak by any athlete in top-level professional sport as recorded by ''

''. Combined they have won 14 world opens, making Pakistan the most decorated Squash nation in the world. Pakistani players have won the Squash World Open 17 times, and

12 times, the highest by any nation.

Carla Khan Carla Khan (Urdu: کارلا خان; born 18 August 1981) is a British Pakistani professional squash player. She is the granddaughter of Azam Khan, one of the legends of squash in Pakistan and daughter of Jacqui Stoter and Wasil Khan. She sta ...

, one of Pakistan's most successful sportswomen, is one of several men and women who represent Pakistan. The Pakistan Squash Federation is the governing body in the country. The Pakistan Open tournament is one of the premier events of the sport in the country. Every province of the country holds its own men's and women's championships. Some other notable players from Pakistan include

Hashim Khan Hashim Khan (; – 18 August 2014) was a squash player from Pakistan. He won the British Open Squash Championships (the then ''de facto'' world championship) a total of seven times, from 1951 to 1956, and then again in 1958. Khan was th ...

Torsam Khan Torsam Khan (sometimes spelled "Torsan Khan") (1952-1979) was a squash player from Pakistan. He belonged to a Pashtun family from Nawakille, Peshawar, Pakistan. He is the son of the 1957 British Open champion Roshan Khan, and the older brother ...

, Mobillah Khan, and Qamar Zaman.

Table tennis

The Pakistan Table Tennis Federation runs the sport in the country.

Farjad Saif Farjad Saif (; born 24 July 1966) is a Pakistani table tennis player. He competed in the men's singles event at the 1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as ...

is the first player in Pakistan Table Tennis history to represent the country in the Olympics, participating in the 1988 Seoul Games. He did exceedingly well eventually ending the Olympic games with a ranking of 25th in the world. He also holds a record 13 national titles also being the only individual to win the title 7 times in a row. The Pakistan women's national table tennis team in 1972, competed in the inaugural ATTU

Asian Table Tennis Championships The Asian Table Tennis Championships is a biennial table tennis tournament that the International Table Tennis Federation regards as a continental championship. From 1952 to 1972, the tournament was organized by the Table Tennis Federation of Asi ...

held in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

.The golden era of table tennis in Pakistan
Anwar Zuberi Dawn 25 August 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2020.

Tennis

Tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

is a very popular sport and Pakistanis compete in various international events. The

Pakistan Tennis Federation Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) is the governing body of tennis in Pakistan founded in 1947. It has played a vital role in the development of domestic, national and international tennis in Pakistan, producing a number of young talented players. I ...

(PTF) organizes the game in the country.

Khawaja Saeed Hai Khwaja Saeed Hai (5 March 1930 – 31 March 2021) was a Pakistani No. 1 tennis player, and the first Pakistani tennis player to reach the main draw of a Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam through qualifying matches. He featured in the main draw of ...

was the first Pakistani to reach a

Grand Slam Grand Slam or Grand slam may refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category terminology originating in contract bridge and other whist card games Athletics * Grand Slam Track, professional track and field league Auto racing * ...

tournament, playing at

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...

, the

US Open U.S. Open or US Open are open championship sporting tournaments that are hosted in the United States and in which anyone, especially amateur and professional, or American and non-American, may compete. The term may also be applied to non-sporting ev ...

, and the

French Open The French Open (), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a tennis tournament organized by the French Tennis Federation annually at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. It is chronologically the second of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam ...

where he made it to the third round.

Haroon Rahim Haroon Rahim (born 12 November 1949) is a Pakistani former tennis player. The former Pakistan and Asian No. 1. He was active from 1965 to 1978 and won 12 singles tour titles. Rahim was the youngest tennis player ever to play for Pakistan in the ...

was a very successful player, he was the winner of several ATP Singles and Doubles titles. Lately, Aisam-ul-Haq created history in Pakistani tennis, as he reached the finals of

2010 US Open – Men's Doubles Bob and Mike Bryan defeated Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi in the final, 7–6(7–5), 7–6(7–4) to win the men's doubles tennis title at the 2010 US Open. The pair did not lose a set during the tournament. Lukáš Dlouhý and Lea ...

and

2010 US Open – Mixed Doubles 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to s ...

. The

Pakistan Davis Cup team The Pakistan men's national tennis team represents Pakistan in Davis Cup tennis competition. It is governed by the Pakistan Tennis Federation. Pakistan currently compete in the Asia/Oceania Zone of Group I. They reached the World Group play-off ...

have previously reached the world group play-offs, with the help of

Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi ( Punjabi, ; born 17 Mar 1980) is a Pakistani professional tennis player who specialises in doubles. He is the only Pakistani player ever to reach a Grand Slam final, having done so in both men's and mixed doubles at the ...

, currently Pakistan's number one, and

Aqeel Khan Aqeel Khan (born 30 January 1980, in Karachi) is a Pakistani tennis player. His favourite surface is Grass. He is coached by Pakistani tennis coach Jamil Khan, who is his father. Aqeel Khan is sponsored by Jaffer Brothers (Jaffer Grou ...

, the number two. Tennis events are very rare in Pakistan and there is hardly an international tennis event, apart from ATP tournaments.

Individual sports

Archery

The Pakistan Archery Federation is the governing body to develop and promote the game of

archery Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a Bow and arrow, bow to shooting, shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting ...

in Pakistan. It is based in

, and was founded in 1996. It was admitted into the

World Archery Federation World Archery (WA, formerly ''Fédération Internationale de Tir à l'Arc'' (FITA)) is the governing body of the sport of archery. It is based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is composed of 156 national federations and other archery associations, a ...

in 2005. Pakistan Archery Federation organizes National Archery Championship annually. Archery competitions are also a regular part of the National Games.

Mounted archery

Mohammad Omer Saleem, a graduate of

Lahore University of Management Sciences Lahore University of Management Sciences, also known by its acronym LUMS, is a Private university, private research university in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab, Pakistan. Founded in 1985, it is ranked as one of the most prestigious modern Li ...

, has become Pakistan’s first-ever horseback archer. He is also the official representative of the World Horseback Archery Federation (WHAF) in Pakistan. Saleem represented Pakistan in the 16th World Horseback Archery Championship 2021 held in Tehran, Iran. He was placed at 18th in the Qabaq Track, 19th in the Kassai Track and 20th in the Korean Serial Track out of 45, including qualifiers. He broke the record for the highest score of any first-time participating country.

Athletics

The Athletics Federation of Pakistan (AFP) organises athletic tournaments in

. Pakistani athletes compete in various athletic events. Many Pakistani athletes have excelled in various events including the

, the

World Athletics Championships The World Athletics Championships, known as the IAAF World Championships in Athletics until 2019, are a biennial sport of athletics, athletics competition organized by World Athletics, formerly International Association of Athletics Federations ...

and the

among others. The 1950s and 1960s are often regarded as the Golden Age of Pakistani athletics, with Abdul Khaliq,

Ghulam Raziq Ghulam Raziq (11 November 1932 – 24 June 1989)Mention of Ghulam Raziq's ...

, Mubarak Shah,

Muhammad Iqbal Muhammad Iqbal (9 November 187721 April 1938) was a South Asian Islamic philosopher, poet and politician. Quote: "In Persian, ... he published six volumes of mainly long poems between 1915 and 1936, ... more or less complete works on philoso ...

Muhammad Nawaz Muhammad Nawaz (15 August 1924 – 13 May 2004) was a Pakistani javelin thrower who competed in the 1956 and 1960 Summer Olympics. Early life Nawaz was born on 15 August 1924 at the village of Budhial in the Punjab province of the British ...

Jalal Khan Jalal Khan ( Balochi:) is a legendary figure in the history of the Baloch people who led 44 Baloch tribes from Persia to Makran, founding the first Baloch confederacy in the 12th century. He died in Kech, Makran, leaving behind four sons: '' ...

, Allah Ditta and

Muhammad Ramzan Ali Muhammad Ramzan Ali (born 13 December 1932) is a Pakistani athlete who competed in the 1956 Summer Olympics and 1960 Summer Olympics. Career Ali represented Pakistan in both the long and triple jumps at the 1956 Summer Olympics. At the 1958 ...

achieving various milestones. In the early decades, Pakistanis held many Asian records including the Asian 100 m and 200 m record held by Abdul Khaliq. Other notable athletes include Muhammad Youssef, Muhammad Ayub,

Muhammad Younis Muhammad Younis (4 November 1948 – 29 October 2024) was a Pakistani middle distance runner who competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics and the 1976 Summer Olympics. He still holds the national records in 1500 metres, 2000 metres, 3000 metres a ...

Mirza Khan Mirza Khan (15 December 1924 – 26 January 2022) was a Pakistani hurdler who competed in the 1952 Summer Olympics. He won the gold medal in 400 m hurdles event at the 1954 Asian Games The 1954 Asian Games (), officially known as the Second As ...

, Ghulam Abbas,

Nadir Khan Mohammad Nadir Shah (Pashto/Dari: محمد نادر شاه April 1883 – 8 November 1933) was King of Afghanistan from 15 October 1929 until his assassination in November 1933. He became the king after his victory in the Afghan Civil War of 19 ...

, Aqarab Abbas, Muhammad Sharif Butt, Khwaja Muhammad Aslam, among others, who got prominence at either Asian or International levels, winning gold medals for Pakistan. Pakistani female athletes have also represented Pakistan at the international level, such as

Shabana Akhtar Shabana Akhtar (born April 5, 1972)
from the

, who was the first Pakistani female athlete to participate at the Olympics. International events such as the

Lahore Marathon The Lahore Marathon is an annual road marathon held in Lahore, Pakistan on 2005, 2006, and 2012. The main event is the traditional 42.195 km marathon race. Other races in the marathon include a 10 km race, 5 km "Family Fun Run", ...

take place in the country. In recent times,

Arshad Nadeem Arshad Nadeem (Punjabi language, Punjabi / ; ; born 2 January 1997) is a Pakistanis, Pakistani javelin thrower. He is the reigning Athletics at the 2024 Summer Olympics – Men's javelin throw, Olympic, 2025 Asian Athletics Championships � ...

is the reigning

Olympic champion This article includes lists of all Olympic medalists since 1896, organized by each Olympic sport or discipline, and also by Olympiad. Medalist with most medals by sport Summer Olympic sports Sports that will appear in the 2028 Summer Olympics ar ...

in Men's javelin throw with an

Olympic record Olympic records are the best performances in a specific event in that event's history in either the Summer Olympic Games or the Winter Olympic Games. Summer Olympics * Archery at the Summer Olympics, Archery (List of Olympic records in archery, li ...

throw of at the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

. He also won Pakistan's first ever

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

medal, a silver at the

2023 World Athletics Championships The 2023 World Athletics Championships (), the nineteenth edition of the World Athletics Championships, were held from 19 to 27 August 2023 at the National Athletics Centre (Budapest), National Athletics Centre, in Budapest, Hungary. The tourna ...

. In

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, he created a Commonwealth Games record with a throw of 90.18 m and became the first ever athlete from

to breach the 90m mark.

Billiards and snooker

Snooker Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sport played on a rectangular Billiard table#Snooker and English billiards tables, billiards table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six Billiard table#Pockets 2, pockets: one at each corner and ...

is one of the rising sports in Pakistan, and it has been taken up by many people. There has been success at the international level; Muhammad Yousaf was the 1994 IBSF World Snooker Champion and the 2006 IBSF World Masters Champion.

Shokat Ali Shokat Ali (born 4 March 1970) is a snooker player who has represented Pakistan in international tournaments.

is Pakistan's number one player and an Asian Games Gold medalist. He also won a

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...

at the

2001 World Games The 2001 World Games (), the sixth World Games, were an international multi-sport event held in Akita, Japan. Titles 140 titles (invitational sports not included) were awarded in the following official sports. There were five invitational sport ...

. Ahsan Ramzan has set a new record for amateur snooker and became the 2nd youngest champion in the world after Chinese player

Yan Bingtao Yan Bingtao (; born 16 February 2000) is a Chinese former professional snooker player who is currently serving a five-year ban from professional competition after committing a range of match-fixing offences. He rose to prominence by winning th ...

at World Amateur Snooker Championships. He represented Pakistan at the

2022 World Games The 2022 World Games, commonly known as Birmingham 2022, were an international multi-sport event held from July 7 to 17, 2022, in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. They were the 11th World Games, a multi-sport event featuring disciplines ...

held in Birmingham, United States. Muhammad Asif is a three-time winner of the amateur IBSF World Snooker Championship. He turned professional in 2022. The Pakistan Billiards Snooker Association (PBSA) was formed in 1958.

Bowling

Pakistan Tenpin Bowling Federation is affiliated with Asian Bowling Federation and

World Bowling International Bowling Federation (IBF), formerly known as the ''Fédération Internationale des Quilleurs'' (FIQ) from 1952 to April 2014 and as World Bowling (WB) from April 2014 to November 2020, is the world governing body of nine-pin and ten ...

. The Federation is affiliated with Pakistan Sports Board.

Chess

In Pakistan,

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

is played throughout the country, mostly in the Mughal style which is slightly different from the international style, but the

Chess Federation of Pakistan The Chess Federation of Pakistan is national governing body to promote and develop chess in Pakistan. It was established in 1957, and joined FIDE in 1973. Mr. Hanif Qureshi is the current president of the federation, having been elected unanimo ...

(CFP) organizes its tournaments in the international style, and according to the established rules. The

FIDE The International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation, commonly referred to by its French acronym FIDE ( , ), is an international organization based in Switzerland that connects the various national chess federations and acts as the Spor ...

has awarded the

International Master FIDE titles are awarded by the international chess governing body FIDE (''Fédération Internationale des Échecs'') for outstanding performance. The highest such title is Grandmaster (GM). Titles generally require a combination of Elo rating and ...

title to Shahzad Mirza and Mahmood Lodhi.

Cycling

The

Pakistan Cycling Federation The Pakistan Cycling Federation is the national sport governing body, governing body of cycle racing in Pakistan. It was established in 1947 and is currently based in Peshawar. SYED AZHAR ALI SHAH President, and Muhammad Haroon General is the ...

is the governing body of

in Pakistan. The Tour de Pakistan International Cycling Race starts from

and ends in

Peshawar Peshawar is the capital and List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population, largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is the sixth most populous city of Pakistan, with a district p ...

, with about 150 domestic and international cyclists taking part every year. This race is among the largest of such events in

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

, covering a distance of 1,648 km in eleven stages with four days of rest en route. Teams from

WAPDA The Pakistan Water & Power Development Authority (), colloquially known as WAPDA, is a Pakistani government-owned public utility agency maintaining hydropower and water in Pakistan, although it does not manage thermal power plants. WAPDA includes ...

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ), commonly known as the Pak Army (), is the Land warfare, land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the army. The ...

Pakistan Railways Pakistan Railways is the state-owned railway operator in Pakistan. Founded in 1861 as the North Western State Railway and headquartered in Lahore, it owns of operational track across Pakistan, stretching from Peshawar to Karachi, offering bot ...

, and

Sui Southern Gas The Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC), () formerly known as Sui Gas Transmission Company Limited, is a Pakistani state-owned natural gas supply company based in Karachi, Pakistan. Sui Southern Gas Company is Pakistan's leading integrated gas comp ...

Company, along with teams of the four provinces regularly take part in domestic and international cycling tournaments. Women's cycling also takes place in the country. Other events are the Tour of Islamabad and the MTB Tour of the Himalayas. Samar Khan is the first woman in the world to cycle on the

Biafo Glacier The Biafo Glacier () is a glacier located within the Karakoram mountain range in the Hispar Valley, Nagar District of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. It extends over a considerable distance, measuring in length, and ranks as one of the largest gla ...

and the first Pakistani to ride a bicycle on snow in Gilgit-Baltistan. She also cycled to

Khunjerab Pass Khunjerab Pass (; ; ) is a mountain pass in northern Pakistan that lies at an elevation of above sea level. It is located in the Karakoram and holds a significant strategic position on the northern border of Pakistan, specifically in the Gilg ...

, the highest road in the world, and climbed

Mount Kilimanjaro Mount Kilimanjaro () is a dormant volcano in Tanzania. It is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain above sea level in the world, at above sea level and above its plateau base. It is also the highest volcano i ...

with her bike to highlight climate change. As the founder of Samar Camp, she promotes adventure sports and women's empowerment in Pakistan. She is a TEDx speaker and climate activist, inspiring youth through her achievements in extreme cycling. Her work has earned her national recognition and admiration. Other notable cyclists include

Zenith Irfan Zenith Irfan (زینت عرفان) is the first Pakistani female motorcyclist to ride across Pakistan. Her father dreamt of traveling around the world on his motorbike, but when he died young at age 34, Zenith decided to fulfill his dream. "I did ...

Wazir Ali Syed Wazir Ali (; 15 September 1903 – 17 June 1950) was a prominent figure in early Indian cricket. He was a right-handed batsman and a medium pace bowler. Early life Wazir played in all the Tests that India played before the second world w ...

, Arsalan Anjum Muhammad, Muhammad Ashiq,

Muhammad Shafi Muhammad Shafi (24 January 1897 – 6 October 1976), often referred to as Mufti Muhammad Shafi, was a Pakistani Sunni Islamic scholar of the Deobandi school, a Hanafi jurist and mufti, he was also an authority on shari'ah, hadith, Qur'anic ...

Muhammad Shah Rukh Shazada Muhammad Shah-Rukh (2 October 1926 – 6 September 2015) was a Pakistani field hockey player and cyclist. He competed in the field hockey event, alongside his brother Muhammad Khurram, at the 1948 Summer Olympics and in four cyclin ...

, Din Meraj,

Muhammad Naqi Mallick Muhammad Naqi Mallick (born 12 July 1928) is a Pakistani former cyclist. He competed at the 1948, 1952 and 1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XVI Olympiad and officially branded as Melbourne 1956, w ...

, Awais khan, Muhammad Hafeez,

Saleem Farooqi Saleem Farooqi (born 5 August 1940) is a Pakistani former cyclist. He competed in four events at the 1956 Summer Olympics. At the 1956 Olympics, Farooqi, then 16 years and 121 days old, was the youngest of the 161 competitors at the cycling eve ...

, Abdul Razzaq Baloch,

Imtiaz Bhatti Imtiaz Bhatti (18 April 1933 – 2 July 2024) was a Pakistani cyclist and Air Force pilot and officer. Bhatti was the Pakistan cycling champion during his student days at Punjab Agriculture College, Lyallpur (now University of Agriculture, ...

Sidra Sadaf Sidra Sadaf () is a Pakistani woman cyclist who won a silver medal at the 11th South Asian Games in Dhaka, Bangladesh in January 2010. Sadaf suffers from Hepatitis C. The 18-year-old Christian college student was diagnosed with the disease during ...

, Sabia Abbat,

Lal Bakhsh Lal Bakhsh (born 4 November 1943) is a former Pakistani cyclist. He competed in the team pursuit event at the 1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 (), were an international multi-sport event held from ...

and Noorena Shams.

Gymnastics

The Pakistan Gymnastics Federation has been affiliated with the

International Gymnastics Federation The International Gymnastics Federation ( French: ''Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique'', abbr. FIG) is the body governing competition in all disciplines of gymnastics. Its headquarters is in Lausanne, Switzerland. It was founded on 23 ...

(FIG) since 1958. Pakistan sends individuals and teams to international events such as the Olympic Games.

Golf

Pakistan has qualified for the

Golf World Cup The World Cup of Golf is a men's golf tournament contested by teams of two representing their country. Only one team is allowed from each country. The players are selected on the basis of the Official World Golf Ranking, although not all of the fir ...

a total of 4 times, in 1975, 1977, 1982, and recently in 2009, when they finished joint 22nd out of the 28 qualifying teams. The Pakistan Golf Federation (PGF) run

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

in Pakistan. Karachi Golf Club is one of the oldest in the country and it is where the Pakistan Open takes place. The Pakistan Open was founded in 1967 and became an

Asian Tour The Asian Tour is the principal men's professional golf professional golf tours, tour in Asia except for Japan (which has its own Japan Golf Tour). It is also a full member of the International Federation of PGA Tours. Official money events on ...

event in 2006.

Chris Rodgers Christopher S. Rodgers (born 5 March 1976) is an English professional golfer. Rodgers turned professional in 2000. He currently plays mainly on the Asian Tour and in 2005 he moved to Bangkok. His first Asian Tour win came at the 2006 Pakistan ...

won the Pakistan Open in 2006. The 2007 event was held in January and had an increased prize money purse of $330,000 US.

Taimur Hussain Taimur Hussain (born 2 February 1974) is a Pakistani professional golfer. In 1998 he became the first Pakistani to win on the Asian Tour The Asian Tour is the principal men's professional golf professional golf tours, tour in Asia except for ...

has been Pakistan's most successful golfer, as he won the 1998 Myanmar Open, becoming the first Pakistani to win on the Asian Tour.

Roller skating

The Pakistan Federation of Roller Skating (PFRS) is the national governing body of

roller sports Roller sports are sports that use human powered vehicles which use rolling either by gravity or various pushing techniques. Typically ball bearings and polyurethane wheels are used for momentum and traction respectively, and are attached to devic ...

in Pakistan. The Federation started in Lahore, Pakistan, founded by Khalid Saeed and his team.The federation is affiliated with International Federation of Roller Sports and its continental association Confederation of Asia Roller Sports.

Shooting

Shooting Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or blowpipe). Even the acts of launching flame, artillery, darts, harpoons, grenades, rockets, and guided missile ...

in Pakistan governed by National Rifle Association of Pakistan.

Irshad Ali Irshad Ali may refer to: * Irshad Ali (sport shooter) * Irshad Ali (actor) Irshad Ali, professionally credited as Irshad, is an Indian actor who works in Malayalam films and television. Career He has acted in numerous award-winning art-ho ...

with one silver and two bronzes in the

is one of the most successful shooters at international level. Ghulam Mustafa Bashir, a three-time Olympian won the bronze medal back at the 2022 International Shooting Sports Federation World Championships in Cairo, Egypt, and also earned direct qualification to

Paris 2024 Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

. Kishmala Talat won Pakistan's first Asian Games medal in shooting at the

2022 Asian Games The 2022 Asian Games (), officially the 19th Asian Games () and also known as Hangzhou 2022 ( zh, c=, s=杭州2022, labels=no), were a continental multi-sport event which was held from 23 September to 8 October 2023 in Hangzhou, China. The ...

. She wo
silver medal in Asian Rifle/ Pistol Championship 2024 Jakarta, Indonesia
and became the first woman in the history of Pakistan to get direct berth to Olympics. In the same event with his teammate

Gulfam Joseph Gulfam Joseph (born 17 December 1999) is a Pakistani sports shooter. He competed in the Men's 10 metre air pistol event at the 2020 Summer Olympics and the 2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXII ...

, she won bronze medal in mix team event.

Skiing

The Ski Federation of Pakistan, created in December 1990, runs the sport. Despite being a country with many mountains, the sport has never taken off until the late 1990s. Up until then, it was only done by the

. Now there have been facilities put in place so that the sport can be played, and the Ski Federation of Pakistan now sends out teams to international tournaments. Muhammad Abbas represented Pakistan at

2010 Winter Olympics The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Vancouver 2010 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held from February 12 to 28, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with ...

while Muhammad Karim represented Pakistan at the

2014 Winter Olympics The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXII Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Sochi 2014 (), were an international winter multi-sport event that was held from 7 to 23 February 2014 in Sochi, Russia. Opening ro ...

2018 Winter Olympics The 2018 Winter Olympics (), officially the XXIII Olympic Winter Games (; ) and also known as PyeongChang 2018 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held between 9 and 25 February 2018 in Pyeongchang County, South Ko ...

and

2022 Winter Olympics The 2022 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXIV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Beijing 2022 (2022), were an international winter multi-sport event held from 4 to 20 February 2022 in Beijing, China, and surrounding areas wit ...

. Mir Nawaz won silver and bronze medals at the

2011 South Asian Winter Games The 2011 South Asian Winter Games, officially the 1st South Asian Winter Games, were held in Dehradun and Auli, India, Auli, in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, India in January 2011. The games were conducted by the Indian Olympic Associatio ...

becoming Pakistan's first ever medalist at any South Asian Winter Games.

Amina Wali Amina Wali is a Pakistani alpine skier and a recipient of Pride of Performance. She remained national champion for 15 years. In acknowledgement of her extra ordinary achievements in sports, she was conferred Presidential Award of Pride of ...

is a

alpine skier Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether ...

and she remained national champion for 15 years. Ifrah Wali made history by becoming the first winner of the Giant Slalom event at any South Asian Winter Games when she won gold at the inaugural games held in

Motorsport

The Motorsport Association of Pakistan (MAP) is a member of the Federation Internationale de L'Automobile FIA. The Pakistan National Karting Championship was the first motor racing circuit competition in Pakistan and is used to develop rookie drivers. The Freedom Rally is a yearly off-road race that takes place during the Independence celebrations. A1gp pakistan von oben

Nur B. Ali was the first Pakistani Racing driver and Co-founded the MAP. He drives in the

ARCA RE/MAX Series The ARCA Menards Series is an American stock car series, the premier division of the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). It is considered a minor, semi-professional league of stock car racing, used as a feeder series into the three national ...

and is a former two-time Southwest

Formula Mazda Formula Mazda is a class of relatively affordable open-wheel car formula racing. The original tube-frame Formula Mazda car had its own class in Sports Car Club of America, SCCA club racing from 1998 to 2019. The subsequent Pro Mazda Series ...

Regional Series champion. Ali was also the driver of the

A1GP A1 Grand Prix Operations Ltd. operated as A1 Grand Prix (A1GP) was a "single-make" open-wheel auto racing series that ran from 2005 until 2009. It was unique in its field in that competitors solely represented their nation as opposed to themsel ...

Team Pakistan in 2006. Syed Ovais Naqvi is the first local and homegrown professional Pakistani Racecar Driver and he is also the first Pakistani to acquire the International B Racing license, he also co-founded the MAP and is the General Secretary of the body. Ovais was also responsible for putting together the Pakistan National Karting Championship. Omer Younas is currently racing in the Formula BMW Pacific and

Adnan Sarwar Adnan Sarwar is a Pakistani actor, director, musician, screenwriter, producer, lyricist, doctor and racing driver. He made his film debut in the biopic ''Shah'', in which he also played the leading role. Career Music From 2002 onwards Adnan sta ...

races in Formula Rolon. In 2005, the

A1 Team Pakistan A1 Team Pakistan was the representative team of Pakistan in the former A1 Grand Prix motor racing series. History 2005–06 A1 Grand Prix season, 2005–06 season A1 Team Pakistan was launched in front of the Lahore Fort. Pakistan's President ...

was run by

Adam Langley-Khan Adam Langley-Khan (born 24 May 1985) is a British racing driver of Pakistani descent. History Khan began racing with an intensive course at the BRDC Silverstone Racing School in 2001, and jointly competed in several Junior Formula Ford rac ...

, Khan remained the Team Pakistan driver until 2008. He also drives in the

Euroseries 3000 Auto GP, sometimes referred to as the Auto GP World Series and formerly known as both Euro Formula 3000 and the Euroseries 3000, was a European formula racing series. The series' roots can be traced back to 1999 and the Italian Formula 3000 serie ...

Mountaineering

With the greatest concentration of the highest peaks of the world many of them very challenging climbs, Pakistan is a prime location for skilled mountain climbers. Five peaks are over 8,000 meters. The Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP) founded in 1974, is the national mountaineering and climbing federation.

Chiltan Adventurers Association Balochistan Chiltan Adventurers Association Balochistan (CAAB; ) is a non-profit government adventure sports association in Balochistan, Pakistan. It consists of young boys and girls dedicated to the promotion of mountain adventure, sports climbing and ass ...

is the major affiliated unit of ACP founded in 1984.

Nazir Sabir Nazir Sabir (Urdu: نذیر صابر ) is a Pakistani mountaineer. He was born in Hunza. He has climbed Mount Everest and four of the five 8000 m peaks in Pakistan, including the world's second highest mountain K2 making the first ascent ...

Ashraf Aman Ashraf Aman (, born 15 January 1938) is a Pakistani mountaineer, adventurer, and engineer. In 1977, he became the first Pakistani to reach the summit of K2. He operates the travel and tourism-based company "Adventure Tours Pakistan". He is al ...

Hayatullah Khan Durrani Hayatullah Khan Durrani, PP (Pashto language, Pashto: ; born 22 April 1962) is a Pakistani people, Pakistani caving, caver, mountaineering, mountaineer, environmentalist, organizer, and a rescuer. He is also a part-time sports anchor actor on ...

Group of Chiltan Adventurers with Lino Lacedelli Italian Mountaineer 2004

Lt.Col Abdul Jabbar Bhatti, Col Sher Khan, and

Meherban Karim Meherban Karim (21 January 1979 – 2 August 2008) was a Pakistani mountaineer. He died, along with 10 other mountaineers, in the 2008 K2 disaster, following an avalanche in what was to be one of the deadliest accidents in the history of K2 mou ...

are Pakistan's most experienced mountaineers. Pakistan Alpine Institute is the pioneer of "big wall climbing" in Pakistan. Pakistan's First Big Wall Climbing Expedition has been completed by Imran Junaidi and Usman Tariq in September 2013.

Samina Baig Samina Khayal Baig (; born 19 September 1990) is a Pakistani mountaineer who climbed Mount Everest in 2013, all Seven Summits by 2014, and K2 in 2022. She is the first Pakistani woman to climb Everest, K2 and the Seven Summits. She climbed Mt. ...

is the first

Pakistani Pakistanis (, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistan is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. As much as ...

woman and the third Pakistani to climb

Mount Everest Mount Everest (), known locally as Sagarmatha in Nepal and Qomolangma in Tibet, is Earth's highest mountain above sea level. It lies in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas and marks part of the China–Nepal border at it ...

. She is also the youngest Muslim woman to climb Everest, having done so at the age of 21. Samina is also the first Pakistani woman and the first Muslim to climb the

seven summits The Seven Summits are the highest mountains on each of the seven traditional continents. On 30 April 1985, Richard Bass became the first climber to reach the summit of all seven. In January 2023, ''Climbing (magazine), Climbing'' said "Today, t ...

Weightlifting

The Pakistan Weightlifting Federation was formed in 1953. Pakistan has picked up several medals over the years in

. In the

2021 World Weightlifting Championships The 2021 World Weightlifting Championships was a weightlifting competition held from 7 to 17 December in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Due to concerns about the rapid spread of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron variant and held shortly after 2020 Summe ...

Tashkent Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. I ...

Talha Talib Talha Talib (Urdu: ) (born 3 October 1999) is a Pakistani weightlifter from Gujranwala. Talha made history by finishing fifth at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, delivering one of the best Olympic performances by a Pakistani weightlifter in decades. In 20 ...

won the bronze medal in the 67 kg category by lifting 143 kg in the snatch event. This was Pakistan's first-ever medal at the

World Weightlifting Championships The World Weightlifting Championships is an international weightlifting competition, currently held annually (except for years of the Summer Olympic Games) by the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF). The predecessor organization of the I ...

. Talha was brought into the limelight at the

2020 Tokyo Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

, where he finished fifth in the men's 67 kg event. This was Pakistan's first top 5 position at the Olympics since

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

in sports other than field hockey. Shujauddin Malik won a gold medal at the

2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006, were an International sport, international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Melbourne ...

, followed by Nooh Dastgir Butt, who broke Commonwealth Games records as he won the gold medal at the

Combat sports

Boxing

The

Pakistan Boxing Federation The Pakistan Boxing Federation (PBF) is the governing body of amateur boxing in Pakistan. The Pakistan Amateur Boxing Federation (PBF) organizes all amateur matches countrywide. It is also responsible for scouting and raising boxers from Pakistan ...

(PBF) organises

matches in

. The Pakistan Amateur Boxing Federation (PABF) organizes amateur matches. Pakistan has seen success at amateur-level boxing, despite a lack of necessary equipment and facilities. The Shaheed Benazir Bhutto International Boxing Tournament took place in the KPT Benazir Sports Complex in

from 1–8 January 2010. Amir Khan, the professional

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

boxing world champion of Pakistani descent was the guest in the final rounds of tournament. Pakistan has won medals at the Olympic and Commonwealth Games.

Quetta Quetta is the capital and largest city of the Pakistani province of Balochistan. It is the ninth largest city in Pakistan, with an estimated population of over 1.6 million in 2024. It is situated in the south-west of the country, lying in a ...

born Haider Ali won gold at the

2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002, were an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Manchester, England, ...

as a Featherweight and went on to become a professional boxer.

Hussain Shah Syed Hussain Shah () (born August 14, 1964) is a retired Pakistani boxer from Lyari, Karachi Pakistan, who won the bronze medal in the Middleweight division (71–75 kg) at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. This was the country ...

won the bronze medal in the Middleweight division at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

, becoming the country's first ever and to date the only Olympic boxing medalist.Pakistan's Shah Hussain reaches men's judo final
26 July 2014 Retrieved 26 July 2014

Kabaddi

Kabaddi Kabaddi (, ) is a contact team sport played between two teams of seven players. It is one of the traditional games of South Asia. In this game, a raider enters the opposing half of the court to touch defenders and attempt to return within 30 ...

is a famous sport in Pakistan. The governing body for Kabaddi in Pakistan is Pakistan Kabaddi Federation. Pakistan won the

2020 Kabaddi World Cup (Circle style) The 2020 Kabaddi World Cup or 2020 Tapal Tezdum Kabbadi World Cup (for sponsorship reasons) was the seventh edition of the Kabaddi World Cup (circle style), held from 9 February to 16 February 2020 with the Opening Ceremony on 9 February 2020 a ...

at the National Stadium in Lahore, after a close contest against India by 43–41.

Karate

Karate is the regular event of National Games, the federation also organizes the National karate championship. The Pakistan Karate Federation is the national governing body to develop and promote the sport of

Karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) un ...

. Ghulam Ali and Saadi Abbas have won gold medals at the

SAF Games The South Asian Games is a quadrennial multi-sport event held among athletes from South Asia. The South Asia Olympic Council, which was formed in 1983, governs it. The Games consist of seven countries, namely Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Ne ...

. At the

held in

Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

in 2018, Nargis Hameedullah became the first Pakistani woman to win an individual medal (a bronze) at the

Mixed Martial Arts

Mixed Martial Arts Pakistan is the premiere

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

(MMA) and

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...

promotion based in

that was created in December 2007 by Bashir Ahmad to promote martial arts (and martial sports such as

and

) styles in Pakistan with a particular focus on mixed martial arts competition. Anita Karim is the first international female Mixed Martial Arts fighter from Pakistan to win multiple national and international-level bouts.

Taekwondo

The

Pakistan Taekwondo Federation The Pakistan Taekwondo Federation (PTF) is the national governing body to develop and promote the sport of Taekwondo in the Pakistan. The federation is headquartered in Rawalpindi. History Taekwondo was introduced in Pakistan by Korean Cons ...

is the national governing body to develop and promote the sport of

Taekwondo Taekwondo (; ; ) is a Korean martial art and combat sport involving primarily kicking techniques and punching. "Taekwondo" can be translated as ''tae'' ("strike with foot"), ''kwon'' ("strike with hand"), and ''do'' ("the art or way"). In ad ...

. Taekwondo was introduced in Pakistan by Korean Consulate in

in 1962. The federation was established in 1977 and granted affiliation by World Taekwondo. In 1982, the federation was affiliated with the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) and Pakistan Sports Board (PSB). It is a regular part of the biannual National Games. The federation organizes the annual National Taekwondo Championship.

Judo

The Pakistan Judo Federation is the governing body to develop and promote the game of Judo in Pakistan. The federation is based in

. Shah Hussain Shah is Pakistan's most accomplished judoka, boasting an impressive record of international medals. He has won two bronze medals at the

Asian Judo Championships Asian Judo Championships is the Judo Asian Championship organized by the Judo Union of Asia. The men's tournament began in 1966 and was held approximately every four years, until 1991, when it became an annual event (except in the years when th ...

and two gold medals at the

. At the

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games (), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014 (; ), were an international multi-sport event celebrated in the tradition of the Commonwealth Games as governed by the Commonwea ...

in Glasgow, Shah narrowly lost to Scotland's

Euan Burton Euan Michael Burton MBE (born 31 March 1979) is a Scottish judoka (a Judo practitioner). His best results include; 2010 World Championship bronze, 2010 Tokyo Grand Slam gold, and 2007 World Championship bronze. Biography Burton was born in ...

in the -100 kg division finals, securing a silver medal. He added another bronze medal to his collection at the

. A trailblazer for Pakistan, Shah made history by becoming the first judoka from the country to qualify for the

, representing Pakistan at both the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

in Tokyo, Japan. Through his achievements, Shah has cemented his legacy as a pioneering figure in Pakistani judo.

Wushu

The Pakistan Wushu Federation is the national governing body to develop and promote the sport of

Wushu Wushu may refer to: Martial arts * Chinese martial arts, the various martial arts of China * Wushu (sport) Wushu () (), or kung fu, is a competitive Chinese martial art. It integrates concepts and forms from various traditional and modern ...

in the

. The Federation was formed in 1962. Ijaz Ahmed is an international wushu competitor from Pakistan. He won a silver medal at the

2010 Asian Games The 2010 Asian Games (), officially known as the XVI Asian Games () and also known as Guangzhou 2010 (), were a regional multi-sport event held from November 12 to 27, 2010 in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China (although several events commenced ear ...

and a gold medal at the

2006 South Asian Games The 2006 South Asian Games (also known as the 10th South Asian Games) were held in Colombo, Sri Lanka from 18 August to 28 August 2006, in the Sugathadasa Stadium with more than 2000 sportspersons competing in the record 20 disciplines of Sports. ...

. He is the only silver medalist from Pakistan in any martial arts at the

. Maratab Ali Shah is a two time

bronze medalist. He is also a two-time

gold medalist in Wushu.South Asian Games
Pakistan Sports Board. Retrieved 15 November 2010
Pakistan Sports Board. Retrieved 15 November 2010

Wrestling

Wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

has always been an important sport in Pakistan, with regular tournaments played locally.

Gama Pahalwan Ghulam Mohammad Baksh Butt (22 May 1878 – 23 May 1960), commonly known by the title Rustam-e-Hind and by the ring name The Great Gama, was a Kashmiri Muslim, pehlwani wrestler and strongman in British India and later, Pakistan. In the ear ...

was an undefeated World Wrestling Champion from

. Gama Pahalwan's nephew

Bholu Pahalwan Manzoor Hussain (1922–1985), also known as Bholu Pahalwan, was a Pakistani wrestler and held the world heavyweight title. Biography Bholu came from a Kashmiri family of renowned wrestlers from Amritsar and after the independence of Pakist ...

also represented

in wrestling. The Pakistan Wrestling Federation (PWF) is the national governing body of the sport of Wrestling in Pakistan.

Muhammad Bashir Mohammad Bashir () (10 March 1935, in Lahore – 24 June 2001, in Lahore) was a wrestler from Pakistan. His bronze medal in freestyle wrestling in the welterweight class (73 kg) at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome was Pakistan's first ind ...

won the bronze medal in freestyle wrestling in the welterweight class (73 kg) at the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad () and commonly known as Rome 1960 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 25 August to 11 September 1960 in Rome, Italy. Rome had previously been awar ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

becoming Pakistan's first and to date the only wrestling Olympic medalist. Pakistan's most successful event in the

has been Wrestling, where it has won 46 medals, 21 of which have been Gold. It ranks 3rd overall in Wrestling at the Commonwealth Games. Other notable wrestlers include

Aslam Pahalwan Muhammad Aslam (; 14 January 1927 – 7 January 1989), popularly known as Aslam Pahalwan, was a Pakistani professional wrestler and World Heavyweight Champion in professional wrestling. He was ranked as the world's No.9 by Wrestling Revue "Offi ...

, Muhammad Sardar, Muhammad Niaz, Muhammad Nazir, Siraj Din, Zaman Anwar, Muhammad Umar, Muhammad Niaz-Din,

Faiz Muhammad Faiz Muhammad (23 September 1937 – 29 October 2014) was a Pakistani freestyle wrestler. He was from 5 Azad Kashmir Regiment (HAIDER DIL BN).Muhammad Ashraf, Muhammad Akhtar,

Muhammad Bilal Muhammad Bilal (born 24 September 1995) is a Pakistani wrestler. He won bronze medal in 2018 Commonwealth Games. He won the match on a one-sided score of 6:1 in 57-kg freestyle wrestling competition. He is from Gujranwala. He competed at the ...

, Mohammad Din,

Bashir Bhola Bhala Bashir Bhola Bhala (born 20 January 1971) is a Pakistani wrestler. He competed in the men's freestyle 90 kg at the 1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and c ...

Qamar Abbas Qamar Abbas (born 1 September 1989, Faisalabad) is a freestyle wrestler from Pakistan. Career Abbas won the silver medal for his country in the 74 kg freestyle event at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. He lost in the final to In ...

Azhar Hussain Azhar Hussain (; born 15 March 1984, Muzaffargarh) Glasgow Commonwealth Games 2014 official website. Retrieved 29 July 2014 is a wrestling, wrestler from Pakistan. At the 2010 Commonwealth Games, he won his country's first and second ...

and

Muhammad Inam Muhammad Inam Butt (born 27 February 1989) is a Pakistani professional wrestler. He won the country's second gold medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, bronze medal at the 2014 Asian Beach Games, gold medal at the 2016 South Asian Games, gol ...

. Inayat Ullah won Pakistan's first individual medal at the

Youth Olympic Games Youth Olympic Games is an international multi-sport event for athletes aged 15 to 18 years old. Organized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Games are held every four years in staggered summer and winter events consistent with ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

Aquatic and paddle sports

Canoe Kayak

Copy of Abubakar Durrani & Shoaib, training for Russia

The Pakistan Canoe and Kayak Federation is the only official governing body of canoe and kayak sports in Pakistan. The headquarters of PCKF is based in the Hayat Durrani Water Sports Academy at Hanna Lake

, one of the major canoe / kayak paddling and Rowing center in Pakistan. PCKF is affiliated on international level with International Canoe Federation International Canoe Federation (ICF) and on Asian level with Asian Canoe Confederation (ACC), and on National level recognised with

. The Kayaking National Champions Mohammad Abubakar Durrani, Mohammad Shoaib Khilji, and Farhanullah Kakar belong to HDWSA and Pakistan Customs Canoe & Kayak team Quetta.

Rowing

and

are the major centers of rowing in Pakistan. The National Rowing Championship is the major national event of rowing (sport), rowing in the country. The Pakistan Rowing Federation was a founding member of the Asian Rowing Federation. Although Pakistani rowers take part in events, it is considered a minority sport. Rowers like Ali Hassan, Maqbool Ali, Zohaib Zia Hashmi, and Muhammad Asad Khan have won medals at international events and in International School Rowing events. Junior Rowers from Balochistan, such as Mehardil Khan Baabai and Mirwaise Khan Baabai won many medals. Rowing at the 2000 Summer Olympics – Men's single sculls, Muhammad Akram and Rowing at the 2000 Summer Olympics – Men's lightweight double sculls, Zahid Ali Pirzada, Rowing at the 2000 Summer Olympics – Men's lightweight double sculls, Hazrat Islam competed at the 2000 Summer Olympics in the single sculls and lightweight double sculls events, respectively. In May 2025, Mohammad Shehzad, a 64-year-old rower, won a gold medal in the 60+ singles category at the Asian Indoor Rowing Championships held in Pattaya, Thailand. Shehzad defeated Indian competitor James Joseph and set a new Asian record with a time of 1:32.30. His victory was celebrated nationally, including by his daughter,

, an Olympian who represented Pakistan at the 2020 Summer Olympics, 2020 Tokyo Games. Pakistan had a strong showing at the championship, securing a total of 14 medals — 10 gold, 3 silver, and 1 bronze. The event, held from May 26 to 31, featured competitions on indoor rowing machines such as the Concept2 ergometer. Other notable Pakistani performers included Abdul Jabbar and Tayyab Iftikhar, who contributed to the country’s medal tally.

Sailing

The Pakistan Sailing Federation is the national body, with Karachi and Balochistan Sailing/Yachting Associations as its major units. Byram D. Avari, Byram Dinshawji Avari won gold medals for

at the 1978 Asian Games in Bangkok, and again at the 1982 Asian Games in New Delhi. Goshpi Avari won the medal with her husband, Byram D. Avari, Byram, at the Sailing at the 1982 Asian Games, 1982 Games. She was the first and, until 2010, the only Pakistani woman to have won a gold medal at a major international competition. Byram D. Avari also won a silver medal at the Enterprise World Championship held in Canada in 1978. In 2004, Mohammad Tanveer of Pakistan won a silver medal in the Mistral Asian Championship held in Bombay. Shazli Tahir won silver and Junaid Ahmed won a bronze medal in the first CAS International Sailing Championship in April 2008. Muhammad Zakaullah is a keen yachtsman and has represented Pakistan at numerous international events. He has won gold medals at the

twice. Munir Sadiq sailed into the record books in 1998 Asian Games, as his silver medal in the open enterprise class made him the first sailor to win five medals in the Asian Games. He had previously won three gold medals in the enterprise class in 1978, 1986 and 1990, as well as a silver in the same class in 1994. Notable sailors who competed at the Olympics include Khalid Akhtar (sailor), Khalid Akhtar, Arshad Choudhry, Javed Rasool and Mamoon Sadiq.Pakistan has impressive record in sailing: Asian Games in perspective
Dawn. 22 November 2006. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
Cadet College Petaro. Retrieved 2 October 2010.

Swimming

Up until recently, Swimming (sport), swimming struggled as a sport in Pakistan. But there has been a surge in interest, particularly with Rubab Raza. She was the youngest Olympic competitor in Pakistan's history, aged 13 at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Kiran Khan (swimmer), Kiran Khan known as "Golden Girl" also came to attention when she won 7 gold medals, 3 silver medals, and 3 bronze medals at National Games of Pakistan, 28 National Games in 2001. She represented Pakistan at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Other notable swimmers include Iftikhar Ahmed Shah, Muhammad Ramzan (swimmer), Muhammad Ramzan, Muhammad Bashir (swimmer), Muhammad Bashir, Ahmed Nazir, Bisma Khan, Syed Muhammad Haseeb Tariq, Lianna Swan, Jehanara Nabi, Anum Bandey, Mumtaz Ahmed, Adil Baig, Israr Hussain, Kamal Masud and Haris Bandey. Pakistan Swimming Federation is the governing body of swimming in the Pakistan.

List of sports leagues

Cricket

* Pakistan Junior League * Kashmir Premier League (Pakistan), Kashmir Premier League * Pakistan Women's T20 League, The Women's League *

* Pakistan Cup * National T20 Cup

Football

* National Women Football Championship

Hockey

* Pakistan Hockey Super League

Golf

* Pakistan Open

Boxing

* Super Boxing League

Kabaddi

* Super Kabaddi League

National Games

International Participation

* Pakistan at the Olympics * Pakistan at the Paralympics * Pakistan at the Commonwealth Games * Pakistan at the World Games * Pakistan at the World Athletics Championships * Pakistan at the Asian Games * Pakistan at the 2014 Asian Beach Games, Pakistan at the Asian Beach Games * Pakistan at the South Asian Games * Pakistan at the 2021 Islamic Solidarity Games, Pakistan at the Islamic Solidarity Games * Pakistan at the 2019 Military World Games, Pakistan at the Military World Games * Pakistan at the Cricket World Cup * Pakistan at the 2019 World Beach Games, Pakistan at the World Beach Games * Pakistan at the 2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games, Pakistan at the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games

References

External links

Sports Board Punjab

Pakistan Sports Board

Official website of the 31st National Games, Peshawar Pakistan
{{Portalbar, Pakistan Sport in Pakistan,

National participation

Team sports

Cricket

Field hockey

Football

Australian Rules Football

Ball hockey

Baseball

Basketball

Handball

Beach Handball

Ice hockey

Rugby union

Volleyball

Equestrian sports

Polo

Tent pegging

Racquet sports

Badminton

Squash

Table tennis

Tennis

Individual sports

Archery

Mounted archery

Athletics

Billiards and snooker

Bowling

Chess

Cycling

Gymnastics

Golf

Roller skating

Shooting

Skiing

Motorsport

Mountaineering

Weightlifting

Combat sports

Boxing

Kabaddi

Karate

Mixed Martial Arts

Taekwondo

Judo

Wushu

Wrestling

Aquatic and paddle sports

Canoe Kayak

Rowing

Sailing

Swimming

List of sports leagues

Cricket

Football

Hockey

Golf

Boxing

Kabaddi

National Games

International Participation

See also

References

Further reading

External links