For many of you, it will be hard to believe that Pakistan’s fastest female athlete is the daughter of Imam Masjid (Prayer Leader at Mosque) from Faisalabad.
Yes, it is true Sahib-e-Asra who is running from her school days is a national level athlete now. She started taking part in district and then province level competitions and made a name for her by winning several medals. She came to limelight after winning the Gold medal at national level.
Pakistan’s Fastest Female Athlete
The story of Sahib-e-Asra breaking the stereotypes and going against the taboos is being received well by social media. Asra is taking part in competitions for 10 years but got noticed recently after her video went viral.
Unfortunately, in Pakistan where no sports other than cricket gets mainstream attention, it is very hard for athletes like runners to get the support of masses and the government; the situation is even grimmer for the females.
Being a Runner and A Daughter of Prayer Leader
It is unlikely for people to not assume that Sahib-e-Asra’s father didn’t support her for her career as an athlete. But, things were quite contrary to it. Asra’s father was in fact quite supportive of his daughter. Not only this, he even stood firm against relatives who asked him to not allow her daughter a career as an athlete.
Asra’s story also made waves on social media. Twitter users particularly renown figures like journalists were quite delighted after seeing a prayer leader’s daughter becoming Pakistan’s fastest female athlete.
Asra’s story indeed makes her stand in line with inspirational Pakistani women.
Lack of Government Assistance for Athletes
Asra’s journey to being Pakistan’s Fastest female athlete was not an easy ride. She is reportedly not happy about the assistant that athletes get from government. She is also of the opinion that sports persons in neighboring India and Bangladesh get much better coaching than those in Pakistan.
Perhaps, government really needs to go out of the box to spot and polish the bright talent of country, like Sahib-e-Asra whose passion made her achieve this status.
A Ray of Hope
Amidst the perception that Pakistan is a conservative country and females are a suppresed human beings, the story of Asra is really a blow of fresh air. Asra’s case also proves that there is no lack of progressive parents who are willing to let their kids irrespective of their genders, choose a career path, they want to adopt.
