Abdul Khaliq

Abdul Khaliq (Urdu: صوبیدارعبدالخالق پرندہ ایشیاء‎)(Subedar Abdul Khaliq, Parinda e Asia) (23 March 1933 – 10 March 1988) was a Pakistani sprinter from 8 Medium Regiment Artillery who won 36 international gold medals, 15 international silver medals, and 12 International bronze medals for Pakistan. He competed in the 100m, 200m and 4 x 100 metres relay.He participated in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics and the 1960 Rome Olympics. He also participated in the 1954 Asian Games and the 1958 Asian Games. He was born in the village of Jand Awan in Chakwal, Punjab, now in Pakistan, and died on 10 March 1988 in Rawalpindi.

1954

1954 Asian Games

During the 1954 Asian Gamesm Khaliq set a new record of 10.6 seconds in the 100-meter race by beating the previous record of 10.8 seconds, held by Lavy Pinto of India in 1951. Because of this, Abdul Khaliq was dubbed as Fastest Man of Asia. The Indian Prime Minister at the time, Jawaharlal Nehru, also chief guest, dubbed him "The Flying Bird of Asia".He won the 100m gold medal and the 4 × 100 m relay silver medal.

100mGold Medal4 * 100m RelaySilver Medal

He also played in the World Military Games, held in Canada.

Commonwealth and British Empire Games

He was a 100-yard semi-finalist and a 4x110-yards finalist

1955

• Represented the World Military Games at Athens (Greece)

1956

Indo-Pak Meet at Delhi

Abdul Khaliq created new Asian records in both the 100- and 200-meter events. Abdul Khaliq won the 100 m dash by defeating Indian athlete V.K. Rai, winning the 100 m Gold medal with a 10.4-second time. Abdul Khaliq triumphed in the 200 m race and defeated Lavy Pinto of India. Muhammad Sharif Butt broke the record of 200 m in 22.0 seconds held by Lavy Pinto in 1954 Asian Games with 21.9 seconds. Later on, this record was broken by Abdul Khaliq. He also won the 200 m Gold Medal, clocking in at 21.4 sec.

World Military Games at Berlin

Abdul Khaliq Finished third in the final of the 100-meter, with 10.4 seconds, equal to his Delhi timing. He won the 100-, 200-, and 4x100- meter bronze medals.

Pakistan Athletics Training Program in England

Abdul Khaliq defeated Britain Number 1 and Number 2, Shanton and Spooner, in both sprints. He won the 100-yard in 10.1 sec at an international meet in high land games on a turf track which was rendered wet due to incessant rains in the morning. Here, he defeated athletes from 15 countries in Europe. Some of the leading coaches described it as a very good performance and said it was equal to 9.5 sec on a cinder track.

Victorian Relay Championship

Abdul Khaliq ran a 100-meter race in 10.4 seconds, equalling the Australian National record at Olympic Park. Khaliq's was only one-tenth of a second outside of Bobby Morrow's Gold Medal in the Olympic Games' 100 m final.

Melbourne Olympics

In 1956, Abdul Khaliq was at his best. He reached to the level of the semi-finals of both the 100 m and 200 m races. On 24 November 1956, the day of the semi-finals and the final of the 100 m in the Olympics, Abdul Khaliq ran two hard races on the same day as "Anchor Man" for the winning Pakistan team in the 4x110-yard in the Victorian Relay Championship before tackling the 100 m dash of the semi-final. With Khaliq running the last leg, the Pakistan team romped home 10 yards clear in the final clocking 41.6 seconds, one-tenth of a second outside of the national record held by the Australian Olympics team. He won the 100 m gold medal and the 4x100  yd gold medal.

He finished the race in 21.1 sec in both, 100 m and 200 m. 21.1 seconds was best time of all rounds except the final. His performance placed him in top most seven athletes at the time.

100 Metres
First Round, Heat 3 (The first two in each heat qualified for the second round.)

Second Round, Heat 2 (The first three in each heat qualified for the Semi-finals.)

On the same day, Abdul Khaliq came, after running 4x110 yards for the Victorian Relay Championship. It became difficult to run the 100 m dash. He could not perform his best because of improper rest.
Semi-final, Heat 1 (The first three in each heat qualified for the Final)

200 Metres
First Round, Heat 5 (The first two in each heat qualified for the second round.)

Second Round, Heat 1 (The first three in each heat qualified for the Semi-finals.)

Semi-final, Heat 1 (The first three in each heat qualified for the Final)

4*100 Metres Relay
Round One, Heat 1 (The first three in each heat qualified for the Next Round) Athletes from the following five countries participated in this round.
1. The United States 2. Great Britain 3. Pakistan 4. Venezuela 5. Liberia

Semi-final, Heat 2 (The first three in each heat qualified for the Next Round) Athletes from the following six countries participated in this round.
1. Soviet Union 2. Germany 3. Great Britain 4. Australia 5. Pakistan 6. Japan

Final Standing in Melbourne Olympics

1957

World Military Games Athen

In the 100-metre dash, Abdul Khaliq got 2nd place and was beaten by USA. Pakistan secured the fifth position.

Tehran (Iran)

In Tehran, he won the 100- and 200-metre gold medals.

Manchester Athletics Meet

Abdul Khaliq equaled the British all-comer record of 9.6 sec for the 100-yard sprints. He won by inches from American B. Thomes.

Dublin Athletics Meet

Khaliq won the 100-yard dash at 9.8 sec. He beat Britain's D. Roberts.

Glasgow Rangers Sports

Khaliq won two events. Abdul Khaliq clocked 11.6 seconds in the 120 yards handicap, where he started from scratch. In 220 yards, he was too fast for the British runner. He beat Shenton, who ran a 22.0-sec race.

Highland Games Edinburg (Scotland)

Khaliq participated in 100 yards and got first position, with a time of 9.9 seconds.

1958

London

Khaliq finished close second to Brittan's R. Sandsorm in the 100m dash, with a time of 10.6 seconds.

British Empire and Commonwealth Games at Cardiff

He was a 100-yard semi-finalist, clocking in at 9.8 seconds.

1958 Asian Games at Tokyo

Khaliq participated in the 3rd Asian Games in Tokyo. He defended his title in the 100 m race, by defeating Kyohei Ushio of Japan. Abdul Khaliq won 3 medals in the 3rd Asian Games. With Khaliq's contributions, Pakistan secured 2nd position in Athletics and 6th in the overall rankings.

Dual Empire Games

Khaliq was 3rd in the 100 yards.

London

Khaliq won the 220 yards, with 21.5 seconds.

1959

Goetburgh (Sweden)

In the 100 m race, Khaliq was 4th.

Malmo

In the 100 m race, Khaliq was third.

Gavel

Khaliq finished behind Abdon Saye of France in 21.9 seconds in 200m.

Boraas

Khaliq took 200m dash in 21.7 sec.

200m 21.7sec

Gothenburg

Khaliq was second in 100m one tenth of a second behind the winner.

100m 10.8sec

Bradford (England)

Khaliq won the 100 yards race clocking 10.1sec

100 yards	Gold Medal (10.1 sec)

International Meet at Dublin

Khaliq triumphed in the 220 yards clocking 22.2 sec to win.

Glasgow (Scotland)

Khaliq won the 120 yards sprint in 11.6sec.

1960

World Olympics 1960 (Rome)

100 metres
First Round, Heat 2 (The first three in each heat qualified for the second round.)
Abdul Khaliq had passed his peek time so he could not qualify for the next round.

4*100 Metres Relay
Round One, Heat 3 (The first three in each heat qualified for the Next Round) Athletes from the following five Countries Participated in this round.
1. Germany 2. Pakistan 3. Poland 4. Grece

Cairo

100m Gold Medal200m Gold Medal

International Meet at Lahore

100m 10.4 seconds Gold medal (Fastest Man of the Meet).200m Bronze Medal4*100m 41.5 seconds Gold Medal

1962

World Milary Games (Holland)

100m Bronze Medal

International Meet in Ipoh (Malaysia)

100mSilver Medal200mBronze Medal

1962 Asian Games at Jakarta

In 100 meters Pakistan's both entries failed to qualify for the final. Holder of the previous two meets, Khaliq, finished fourth in the semi-final with 10.7 seconds.

In 200 Khaliq qualified for the semi-final but did not produce the same to qualify for finals.

Athletic coaches clinic attended

 1967 at Murree for 6 weeks under German Coach1974 at Hassan Abdal under USA Coaches1976 at Lahore under Russian Coaches1981 at Rawalpindi under I.O.C Coaches

Coaching

• Army Coach 1965, 1966, 1967, 1970 & 1971
• Punjab 1974 & 1975
• National Coach 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977 & 1978
• Joined National Sports Trust Asian Athletics Coach 23 December 1975
• Punjab Sports Board Teachers Clinics
• National Coaches Clinic 1976
• Local PTI Clinic Lahore 1979

Medals

Presidential Award

Khaliq was given the Presidential Award Pride of Performance in 1958 by President Ayub Khan for his achievements.