Pakistan Army dominate 35th National Games, clinch Quaid-e-Azam Trophy
By Nawaz Gohar ; The 35th National Games concluded with the Pakistan Army asserting clear dominance. The Army won 196 gold medals, while WAPDA finished second with 84 gold medals, and the Pakistan Navy secured third place with 36 gold medals.
The Pakistan Air Force slipped from fourth to seventh position, while Punjab, which was eighth in the Quetta Games, surged to fourth place on the medal table. HEC retained fifth position and Sindh finished sixth. Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu & Kashmir failed to win any gold or silver medals.
By winning 196 gold medals, the Pakistan Army concluded the 35th National Games with a commanding lead over all other contingents and lifted the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. The ceremonial torch, which was lit on December 6 at the National Stadium Karachi, was also extinguished at the closing ceremony.
According to records, during the 2023 Quetta National Games, the Army had won 199 gold, 133 silver, and 66 bronze medals. This time, it secured 196 gold, 96 silver, and 56 bronze medals.
The runners-up WAPDA, which had completed a century of gold medals in the Quetta Games, had to settle for 84 gold medals this time, along with 71 silver and 74 bronze medals. In the previous Games, WAPDA had won 109 gold, 101 silver, and 80 bronze medals, totaling 290 medals.
The Pakistan Navy maintained its third position with 36 gold, 39 silver, and 33 bronze medals. In the Quetta Games as well, it had finished third with 28 gold, 32 silver, and 49 bronze medals.Punjab, which finished eighth in the previous National Games, made a significant leap to fourth place with 16 gold, 38 silver, and 72 bronze medals. In Quetta, Punjab had won 3 gold, 11 silver, and 53 bronze medals.
The Higher Education Commission (HEC) secured fifth place with 14 gold, 38 silver, and 65 bronze medals. HEC had also finished fifth in the 2023 Quetta Games with 8 gold, 17 silver, and 93 bronze medals.
Sindh concluded the 35th National Games in sixth position with 11 gold, 25 silver, and 57 bronze medals, ranking second among the provinces. In the Quetta Games, Sindh had finished sixth overall but first among provinces with 4 gold, 16 silver, and 23 bronze medals.
The Pakistan Air Force finished seventh with 9 gold, 16 silver, and 26 bronze medals, a decline from its fourth-place finish in the Quetta Games, where it had won 8 gold, 24 silver, and 42 bronze medals.
In the National Games that concluded in Karachi: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa finished eighth with 5 gold, 18 silver, and 45 bronze medals; Balochistan placed ninth with 4 gold, 14 silver, and 30 bronze medals; Railways secured tenth position with 3 gold, 4 silver, and 22 bronze medals;
Islamabad finished eleventh with 1 gold, 4 silver, and 10 bronze medals; Police placed twelfth with 1 gold, 2 silver, and 25 bronze medals; Gilgit-Baltistan finished thirteenth with 7 bronze medals only; Azad Jammu & Kashmir ended in fourteenth and last position, also with 7 bronze medals only.
