Naseem Hameed, a 22-year old girl from Karachi has won the 100-metre
race in 11.81 seconds to become the fastest woman sprinter in South
Asia. She returned to a tumultuous welcome here after a historic
performance at the South Asian Games in Dhaka, Bangladesh and hoped her
feat would inspire other female athletes from the country to do well at
international stage. Living in a 40 square yard house with her family in
Korangi district of Karachi, Naseem was greeted by hundreds of
people, her family members and Pakistan army athletes turned up at the
airport to welcome Naseem who is an Army employee on a salary of 9000
rupees per month. Previously, Pakistan’s Shabana Akhtar won two gold
medals for long jump in the 1993 and 1995 SAF Games. “When I won the
race I did not realise my gold medal would evoke such response and
celebrations in Pakistan,” she said. “And I will do my best to compete
and win at higher levels like the Commonwealth Games and Olympics,” she
vowed. Pakistani lawmakers demanded a full-time job and house for
Naseem, who comes from Karachi’s impoverished locality area of Korangi.
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