Shajar Abbas holds off 19-year-old Ataullah in 100m photo finish at National Athletics Championship
Shajar Abbas is still Pakistan’s fastest man. The 100 metres champion defended his national title on Thursday night at the 54th National Athletics Championship in Karachi, clocking 10.20 seconds and edging 19-year-old Ataullah by a hundredth of a second in a photo finish.
The race, held at the NED University sports complex, came down to the final stride. Ataullah of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa pushed the holder of both national sprint records all the way, with HEC’s Haseeb Ahmed a further four-hundredths back in third.
Shajar Abbas and a comeback that keeps gathering pace
For Shajar, the title carried extra weight. A little over a year ago he was recovering from surgery on a tumour in his shin bone, unsure whether he would ever sprint again. He still feels pain from the injury, and his rehabilitation is technically still ongoing.
“He ran pretty good, it got pretty close,” Shajar told reporters after the race. “Hopefully we get more competitions like this so the other athletes get more opportunities.”
He has set his sights on the South Asian Games next year, which Pakistan will host. “I will give my best to win a medal for my country on home soil,” he said.
His comeback is part of a wider revival in Pakistani athletics, from Arshad Nadeem’s Olympic gold to his later near-miss.
The teenager who refused to blink
Ataullah, from Nowshera, treated the defeat as a lesson rather than a loss. The reigning junior national champion has already represented Pakistan at this year’s World Athletics U-20 Championship and dominated every junior field put in front of him.
“My time will come,” he said. “I have to achieve a lot, hopefully.”
Faiqa Riaz keeps the women’s crown
Wapda’s Faiqa Riaz needed less drama to retain her title. She won the women’s 100m in 11.56 seconds, well clear of HEC’s Khoula Omer (12.22) and Sindh’s Iqra Riaz (12.24).
Faiqa arrived in Karachi having competed at both the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games in the same year. At the Asian Games in Japan she ran through food poisoning, clocking 11.96 the day after falling ill.
“My health deteriorated. I got food poisoning,” she said. “But I played my competition in that condition… so that was also a good time.”
Like Shajar, she is targeting the home South Asian Games next year. “I’ll try to set a Pakistan record at home and win a gold medal,” she said, crediting her coaches Gauhar Shahbaz and Fayyaz Ahmed. “They saved me from injury and brought my peak at the right time.”
Her Asian Games experience connects her to a wider Pakistani contingent that has been competitive across Asia, including Pakistan’s squash medal at the Asian Games.
Torch passes from star to star
The opening ceremony gave the championship a rare glow. The flame passed from Shajar Abbas to Ghazala Ramzan and then to Olympic javelin champion Arshad Nadeem, who touched it to the cauldron as fireworks went up over the complex.
The opening day also produced several other champions. Sindh’s Mahnoor Fatima won the women’s 5,000m race walk in 32 minutes 32.40 seconds, while Wapda’s Mohammad Waqas took the men’s 20,000m walk in 1 hour 50 minutes and 04.1 seconds.
HEC’s Khadija Mehreen won the women’s shot put with a throw of 10.85m, while Wapda’s Nazia Ehsan and Sohail Amir took the 1,500m titles in 5:09.78 and 3:55.40.
Two notable absences marked the meet. Pakistan Army and Pakistan Railways did not field athletics contingents this year. The organising committee said the Army had “conveyed its readiness and willingness to participate” but that the necessary departmental approval remained pending, while Railways “was unable to field an athletics contingent for this year’s championships.”
What comes next
The championship continues through the weekend, with the 200m races and field events still to come. With Pakistan hosting the South Asian Games next year, the meet doubles as an early selection window. Expect Shajar and Ataullah to meet again.
FAQ
Who won the 100m at the 2026 National Athletics Championship?
Shajar Abbas of Wapda won the men’s 100m in 10.20 seconds, beating 19-year-old Ataullah by 0.01 seconds in a photo finish. Faiqa Riaz of Wapda won the women’s 100m in 11.56 seconds.
