Pakistan Army served a powerful reminder of their sporting prowess, seizing 12 gold medals across multiple disciplines as the National Games charged through a pulsating day of action.

Their goldrush on Sunday was spearheaded by utter dominance in taekwondo and sharp shooting on the ranges.

The clearest demonstration of authority came in the taekwondo Poomsae events, where Army fighters ruled the roost, clinching eight gold medals across age categories.

Their women set the tone: Sana Sabir (Under-50), Naila (U-30), Mehar-Un-Nisa (U-40) and Zeena Sheraz (Under-20)  all stood atop the podium. The men followed suit with Adil Hussain (U-30), Mohammad Mumtaz (U-40), Irshad Ali (U-50) and Syed Zohaib (U-20) securing their own golds.

On the shooting ranges, Army and Navy engaged in a high-class duel, sharing three gold medals apiece.

Navy swept the 10m air pistol events, with Rabia Kabir (232.2) edging Army’s Rimsha Nadeem (231.6) for individual glory before teaming with Rasam Gul and Hadia Liaquat for team gold.

Army struck back in the 25m rapid fire pistol through Mohammad Shabbir while Navy’s G. M. Bashir, Maqbool Hussain and Abdul Quddus took the team title.

Army also claimed both skeet Olympic titles, with Imam Haroon (score 49) leading the charge.

Sindh’s first gold

The day’s most dramatic narrative unfolded away from the established powers, as the Sindh women’s netball team rose above a feisty, fractious final to secure a domineering 20-12 victory over favourites Wapda, claiming a statement gold — a first for the contingent.

It was a triumph of provincial grit over a departmental side with year-round training access.

“That makes this even better,” Sindh skipper Quratulain told Dawn. Team-mate Huma echoed the hunger for more support: “We’ll go a long way if we get that opportunity.”

The match itself descended into chaos. After Sindh seized a 13-9 half-time lead, the stifling heat seemed to boil over.

A third-quarter collision escalated into a shoving match. In the final quarter, a Wapda player made an expletive gesture, inciting the crowd. Sindh held their nerve, but sportsmanship evaporated at the final buzzer.

Handshakes were skipped, and an hour later, a sullen Wapda and bronze-winning Army drowned out Sindh’s celebrations with chants of “losers, losers!”

“The girls need their own court,” said Sindh coach Humaira Huma, a pioneer of Pakistan’s first national team. “Today was just a month’s practice. Imagine what they could do.”

In stark contrast, the men’s final was a pure sporting contest, with Army staging a last-gasp comeback to clinch gold 27-26 against Navy.

Hosts overwhelmed

On the basketball court, Army’s men showcased their systemic power, overcoming a raucous home crowd to dismantle Sindh 97-62.

Sindh started strong, leading 6-4 early. “We started brilliantly, but I guess that’s where we spent most of our energy,” Sindh’s leader Ans Azhar told Dawn.

Army’s towering 7’3“ center, Taglub Ammar, proved unsolvable. “We took the competition lightly initially,” Taglub conceded. Once settled, Army took control, leading 15-12 at halftime and stretching it to 20 by the final quarter.

Top-scorer Shiraz Aslam revelled in the atmosphere: “This is what we play for… The crowd made the match very exciting.”

Sindh’s physicality cost them nearly 20 points from free throws.

“We were very physical… you play to win,” said Ans, who vowed improvement: “We will beat those professional sides.”

In women’s basketball, the powerhouses marched on.

Army delivered a merciless 56-6 rout of Balochistan while Wapda, led by Kainat Zafar, powered past Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 66-24.

“We were trying to conserve energy and avoid injuries,” said Kainat, highlighting Wapda’s key advantage. “This chemistry is the advantage we have over provincial teams.”

Crushing win

Other sports saw their opening salvos. In a staggering display, Wapda’s women’s hockey team crushed Balochistan 18-0, with ten players on the scoresheet.

On the badminton courts, stars like Mahoor Shahzad (Wapda) and Palwasha Bashir (Sindh) led their teams comfortably into the semi-finals.

Army and Punjab also ensured progress with dominant wins.

Murad Ali (KP), Pakistan’s number one, led his team into the last-four in the men’s section as his side beat Railways to advance in the semis.

Army and Police also confirmed their berths in the next round.

The fencing mat witnessed a historic gold for the Higher Education Commission (HEC), delivered by Abdul Mussawir, who dashed Balochistan’s title hopes in the final.

Other sports that kicked off on Sunday included, rugby, volleyball, baseball, softball and table tennis.

Action continues across Karachi on Monday, with Army’s golden machine looking to build on a formidable lead, and provincial sides like Sindh aiming to channel their fighting spirit into more podium finishes.

With national gold on the line, the tension had given way to aggression, physical altercations to verbal spats and obscene gestures. The Sindh women’s netball team, however, rose beyond it to secure glory at the end of it all with a domineering 20-12 victory over Wapda in a fiesty final at the National Games on Sunday.

It was a statement triumph; the provincial side overcoming their departmental opponents who have access to training all year round.

“And yet, we beat them to win gold which makes this even better,” Sindh skipper Quratulain told Dawn.

Teammates Kareema and Huma echoed Quratulain’s words.

“We’ll definitely go a long way if we have that opportunity of year-round training camps and competition,” Huma told Dawn, with Kareema nodding in agreement alongside her.

For Sindh coach Humaira Huma, who took the players under tutelage just this year, her side’s victory was a sign that more needed to be done.

“We need to give these girls a court of their own so they can train and perform even better than what you saw today, which was a product of just a month’s worth of practice,“ said Humaira, who was a member of the first Pakistan national team that competed internationally.

Sindh seized a narrow 7-6 lead in the first quarter against Wapda and had the modest but noisy crowd in raptures when they extended their lead to 13-9 at half-time.

With Wapda chasing the game in the stifling heat typical of Karachi’s winter afternoons, the animosity reached fever pitch with a collision between two players in the third quarter. One Wapda player charged at her opponent and shoved her while screaming in her face. The ensuing fight, reminiscent of a schoolyard scuffle, was quickly broken.

Then, in the final quarter, Wapda’s goal keep made an expletive hand gesture, prompting a strong reaction from the crowd even though the referee was unmoved.

But by then, Sindh were almost over the line with the full-time buzzer sparking wild celebrations from the Sindh players.

There were no handshakes between the teams and the unsportsmanlike conduct multiplied by the time the medal ceremony took place an hour later with a sullen Wapda team cheering for themselves as Sindh were being handed the champions trophy.

Both Wapda and third-place winners Army drowned out Sindh’s celebratory slogans with their own cheers of “losers, losers!”
The men’s final between Army and Navy was devoid of any theatrics; players accepting their technical faults and kept arguments with referees to a minimum.

Army had the slightest of leads over Navy with a 16-15 score at half time but Navy turned the tables in the third quarter to go up 24-22.

Army, however, shifted gears in the final quarter and brilliant play during the power play secured them the gold medal in the last two minutes of the match with a 27-26 triumph.

Netball was one of the few events that began before the opening ceremony on Saturday.

Earlier in the day, the men’s bronze-medal match took place between Wapda and Police. A Michael Jordan-esque leap saw the Wapda Goal Shoot cleanly dunk the ball in the net during a convincing 30-19 win.

McLaren’s Lando Norris sobbed tears of joy and relief as he won the Formula One championship for the first time and ended Max Verstappen’s four-year reign with a nervy third place at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday.

Red Bull’s Verstappen, who ended the campaign with more wins (eight) than any driver, triumphed in the season-ender with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri second and 12.5 seconds behind at the chequered flag.

Norris, Britain’s 11th Formula One world champion, took his points tally to 423 with Verstappen on 421 and Piastri third with 410.

McLaren, who secured the constructors’ championship in October for the second year in a row, won both titles in the same season for the first time since 1998.

“I’ve not cried in a while. I didn’t think I would cry but I did,” said an emotional Norris in a post-race interview, after also shedding tears inside his helmet.

“It feels amazing. I now know what Max feels like a little bit.

“I want to congratulate Max and Oscar, my two biggest competitors the whole season. It’s been a pleasure to race against both of them. It’s been an honour, I’ve learned a lot from both,” he added.

Norris’s mother Cisca gave Piastri a consoling hug while both Verstappen and the Australian congratulated the new champion in a show of sportsmanship.

The victory denied Verstappen the achievement of five titles in a row, something only Ferrari great Michael Schumacher has managed so far.

Charles Leclerc finished fourth in Sunday’s race for Ferrari with George Russell fifth for Mercedes and Fernando Alonso sixth for Aston Martin.

Esteban Ocon was seventh for Haas, ahead of Ferrari’s seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton – who failed to stand on the podium all year in a career low for the 40-year-old who joined the Italian team this year from Mercedes.

Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg was ninth in the German’s 250th race and Lance Stroll 10th for Aston Martin.