There is no dearth of talent in Pakistan but there is no system to tap it. We have heard the stories of such talented people who could not get an opportunity to exhibit their talent in due time, and we have also such stories that our talent was tapped and recognised by other countries.

Farhan Ayub, of Raiwind Road, is a man talent and wants government’s support to achieve milestones at the international level.

Farhan has entered his name in the Guinness World Records (GWR) in four categories without any help of the government.

He first set a world record in the kip-up event, which relates to Martial Arts, by doing 34 attempts in one minute, breaking the record of UK citizen Brendon Isaac, who had done 22 attempts in one minute. Farhan set the new record in the Youth Festival held by the Sports Board Punjab in 2014-15 and received a 100,000 prize.

Then, he set two more records on his own and received certificates from the GWR’s authorities.

Farhan told Dawn that in March and September this year, he had improved three world records. In March, he says, he did 25 no-handed kip-ups in one minute and then on September 6, he with his brother Usman Ayub improved the Guinness’ world record by picking most golf balls (seven) with feet at Garden Town to break the previous record of a Japanese, Mr Cherry. Then, he set a new world record in the same event by picking up 12 balls on his feet in one minute to again break Cherry’s record.He is determined to set some new records next year and says his work should be recognised by the nation.

Farhan is a student of a private university in Lahore.

“I staged a 30-day sit-in outside the Punjab Assembly in August this year just to seek government’s support but failed,” he sighs.

Despite the government’s cold shoulder to him, Farhan went ahead breaking the world record and in September.

Farhan also appealed to the army to give him an opportunity to meet Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa.

Last week, two teams of the Lahore Region played the final of the National T20 Cup in Rawalpindi. It was the first time that both teams of Lahore - Whites and Blues - qualified for the final match of the event. Last year, two teams of Karachi had played the final in Multan and this time Lahore earned the honour. Lahore Blues, which seemed weaker on the papers, however, staged an upset with a seven-wicket victory in the final and lifted the glittering trophy and a Rs2 million prize.

Test star Muhammad Hafeez was leading the champions while former Test captain Salman Butt led the Whites. The Whites, runner-up on the board, won a Rs1 million prize.

It is a good sign for the Lahore cricket and such a great performance indicates that the teams were selected on merit. Lahore and Karachi are the hubs of the game, but emerging regions like Sialkot, Faisalabad and Peshawar have raised very tough teams, which have been dominating domestic cricket from 2008 to 2015. After a long time, Lahore showed positive results at the domestic level as its two teams have also qualified for the Super Eight stage of the premier event of Quaid-i-Azam Trophy, starting in Karachi and Hyderabad in the coming week.

Last week, Wohaib Weightlifting Club won the National Youth Inter-club Weightlifting Championships in Lahore, with 67 points. Chaudhry Amin Club, Gujrawnala, stood second with 63 points. The Muslim Health Club, Lahore finished third with 48 points. Twelve clubs took part in the event. Hamza Rafiq (62 kgs), Farhan Amjad (77kgs), and Ghulam Mustafa (94 kgs) claimed gold medals for Wohaib Club. For Chaudhry Amin Club, only Hyder Sultan won a gold medal in 50 kgs.

Published in Dawn, December 3rd, 2017