KARACHI: With the year 2021 coming to an end, let’s have a look at the top events from the major sports in Pakistan.
Pakistan created history by defeating India in ICC World Cup
It was undoubtedly a remarkable year for the Green Shirts. The men in green set various records and made history. The most prominent event was Pakistan beating India for the first time in a World cup face off.
On 24th October 2021, the two arch-rivals came face to face in their first match of the ICC WT20. Shaheen Shah’s Afridi’s brutal spell, early on, set the tone for the side; helping Pakistan to restrict India for 151/7. Later, it was all Babar Azam and his opening partner Mohammad Rizwan’s show. The pair put on an unbeaten partnership of 152, assisted Pakistan to beat India by 10 wickets.
The side then had an unbeaten run in the group stage, which was then broken by the latter WT20 champions, Australia. The kangaroos defeated the green shirts by five wickets in the second Semi-final.
In 2021, Pakistan also recorded the highest number of victories in T20Is in a calendar year; winning 20 matches.
A frustrating year for the National sport
Pakistan had yet again a disappointing end to a year in the national sport. The green shirts participated in two major events – Junior Hockey World Cup and Asian Hockey Champions Trophy.
In the Junior World Cup, the green shirts were knocked out by Argentina in the group stage; losing the match by 3-4. The side then played several ranking matches, and after beating Poland 5-0, Pakistan managed to finish the tournament with 11th position.
Pakistan did not fare well in the Asian Champions Trophy as well. In the entire tournament, the Green Shirts only won one game against Bangladesh. In the competition, Pakistan met arch-rival India twice, and the men in blue thrashed Pakistan both times. Pakistan finished the tournament; securing the fourth position.
Yet another dark year for football in Pakistan
In April 2021, FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) banned the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) with immediate effect; citing the ‘undue third-party influence’.
Following this ban by FIFA, Pakistan’s national and club teams were not able to compete in international competitions.
Talib, Nadeem glimmered ray of hope for Olympic glory
In Tokyo Olympics, Pakistan’s Javelin-thrower – Arshad Nadeem sharpened the hope of a rare Olympic medal. In the Group-B stage, the athlete topped the ranking chart, however, remained unlucky in the final stage. The athlete could not deliver on the final stage and finished at the fifth position. India’s Neeraj Chopra won the Gold-medal.
Similarly, Pakistan’s weightlifter – Talha Talib narrowly missed out on an Olympic medal. The 21-year-old from Gujranwala gave his growing number of fans back home a glimmer of hope; topping Clean & Jerk. But he too remained unlucky in the final stage and also finished with the fifth rank.
Inam Butt injects new energy to Pakistan’s Wrestling arena
Pakistan’s professional wrestler – Inam Butt became the first Pakistani athlete to win Gold-medal in the Beach wrestling world series twice. Butt secured victory by beating his Ukrainian opponent by 3-0 in the final.
The wrestler then could not qualify for the Tokyo Olympics due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Butt, however, blamed the government for not qualifying for the global event. According to the wrestler, he did not receive a single penny from the government. He also claimed that if he could participate in the 2019 World Wrestling Championship, he would have qualified for the Olympics.
