Pakistani swimmers set new national records at World Junior Swimming Championships

(Web Desk) - Pakistan’s junior swimming contingent made waves at the World Junior Swimming Championships in Romania with Rayan Awan and Azlan Sohail leading the charge by breaking multiple national records.

Rayan Awan rewrote history in the Men’s 50m Breaststroke, clocking 30.87 to eclipse the 17-year-old record of 30.98 set by Abdul Aziz Chaudhry in 2007, a mark established before Rayan was born. He placed 58th out of 86 swimmers in the event. The British-based swimmer also recorded a 1:10.06 in the 100m Breaststroke and a 2:41.71 in the 200m Breaststroke.

Azlan Sohail emerged as the standout in individual medley events, earning the title of junior medley king.

He smashed the Under-16 national record in the 200m Individual Medley with a time of 2:14.18, surpassing Ahmed Durrani’s 2:20.22 from the previous year, and finished 47th out of 73 swimmers.

In the 400m Individual Medley, Azlan clocked 4:54.68, breaking Muhammad Amaan Siddiqui’s 2022 record of 4:57.86. Competing in a grueling 10-event schedule, Azlan also posted 26.72 in the 50m Butterfly (80th out of 116), 1:00.10 in the 100m Butterfly (73rd), 2:24.10 in the 200m Butterfly (45th), 54.73 in the 100m Freestyle (93rd), and 4:21.61 in the 400m Freestyle.

Ali Mitha complemented Azlan’s efforts, recording 25.95 in the 50m Butterfly (61st), 25.06 in the 50m Freestyle (81st out of 119), 27.38 in the 50m Backstroke (43rd out of 87), 1:01.19 in the 100m Backstroke (52nd), and 55.55 in the 100m Freestyle (104th).

Mohid Sadiq Lone added to Pakistan’s mid-distance achievements with a 2:24.33 in the 200m Backstroke, 2:20.78 in the 200m Individual Medley, and 2:41.02 in the 200m Breaststroke, just ahead of Rayan.

The team of Azlan Sohail, Ali Mitha, Hareem Malik, and Meher Maqbool set a new national record in the Mixed 4x100m Freestyle Relay with a time of 4:10.45, as confirmed by World Aquatics.

On the women’s side, Hareem Malik shone in the 50m Breaststroke with a 36.12, close to her national record from the previous year’s junior nationals.

She also swam 33.70 in the 50m Butterfly (99th) and 30.71 in the 50m Freestyle, outpacing 14-year-old Fatima Salman, who clocked 35.52 and 32.68 in the same events, respectively. Fatima also recorded 1:19.93 in the 100m Butterfly and 2:55.91 in the 200m Individual Medley.

Meher Maqbool posted 1:10.03 in the 100m Freestyle, 2:28.44 in the 200m Freestyle, 35.69 in the 50m Backstroke, and 1:17.49 in the 100m Backstroke, where she holds a national title. Raaqiah Aqeel swam 35.30 in the 50m Backstroke and 2:53.37 in the 200m Backstroke.

The women’s quartet of Hareem Malik, Meher Maqbool, Fatima Salman, and Raaqiah Aqeel broke two national records: a 4:48.46 in the 4x100m Freestyle Relay, surpassing the previous 4:49.55, and a 5:12.55 in the 4x100m Medley Relay, shattering the prior mark of 5:36.37.