Subedar Subedar is a rank of junior commissioned officer in the Indian Army; a senior non-commissioned officer in the Pakistan Army, and formerly a Viceroy's commissioned officer in the British Indian Army. History ''Subedar'' or ''subadar'' was the ...

Abdul Khaliq ( Punjabi, ur, ; 23 March 1933 – 10 March 1988), also known as ''Parinda e Asia'' ''(

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

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 The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a Sprint (running), sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run th ...

, and 4 x 100 meters relay. He participated in the

1956 Melbourne Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, whi ...

and the 1960 Rome Olympics. He also participated in the 1954 Asian Games and the

1958 Asian Games The 1958 Asian Games, officially the Third Asian Games ( ja, 第3回アジア競技大会) and commonly known as Tokyo 1958, was a multi-sport event held in Tokyo, Japan, from 24 May to 1 June 1958. It was governed by the Asian Games Federation. A ...

. During the 1956 Indo-Pak Meet held in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

, Abdul Khaliq was first referred to as "The Flying Bird of Asia" by the

Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India (IAST: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and their chosen Council of Ministers, despite the president of India being the nominal head of the ...

of the time,

Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...

, who was mesmerized by his performance during the event.Somak Adhikari
Remembering Abdul Khaliq, The Flying Bird Of Asia And Milkha Singh's Arch-Rival On The Track
29 October 2019. India Times.

International career

1954

1954 Asian Games

In the 1954 Asian Games Abdul Khaliq set a new Asian Games record of 1100 meters in 10.6 seconds by beating the previous record of 10.8 seconds, held by

Lavy Pinto Lavy is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Thomas Lavy (1941–1995), American farmer * Victor Lavy, Israeli economist As nickname * Lavy Pinto (1929–2020), Indian sprinter See also * Lavie (disambiguation) * Lavies ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

in 1951. Abdul Khaliq was dubbed as Fastest Man of Asia. Abdul Khaliq won Gold and Silver Medal from 100-meter and relay race respectively in the 1954 Asian Games. He also played in the World Military Games, held in Canada.

Commonwealth and British Empire Games

Abdul Khaliq was a 100-yard semi-finalist and a 4x110-yards finalist in the 1954 Commonwealth and British Games.

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. The Indian Prime Minister at the time,

, also chief guest, dubbed him "The Flying Bird of Asia" for his tremendous performance. Abdul Khaliq won the 100m dash by defeating Indian athlete V.K. Rai, winning the 100m Gold medal with a time of 10.4-second. Abdul Khaliq triumphed in the 200m race and defeated

of India and created a new record by clocking in 21.4 seconds.

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, equaling 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' 100m final. He won the 100m gold medal and the 4x100 yd gold medal.

Melbourne Olympics

In 1956, Abdul Khaliq was at his best. He was a semi-finalist in both 100m and 200m races. Khaliq's time in 200m race which is 21.1 seconds was the best time in heats but he could not produce the same in the semi-final and got 4th position. This performance of Khaliq's put him top seven athletes of the Olympics. It is compulsory to mentioned here that on 24 November 1956, the day of the semi-finals and the final of the 100m 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 100m 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 in the Victorian championship, which was one-tenth of a second outside of the national record held by the Australian Olympics team. Final Standing in Melbourne Olympics

1957

1957 was one of the best years for Abdul Khaliq. In this year Abdul Khaliq won 11 International Gold Medals and 1 International Silver Medal by participating in multiple events held by England, Iran, Greece, and Scotland.

1958

Khaliq participated in the ''3rd Asian Games held in Tokyo''. He defended his title in the 100m race, by defeating

Kyohei Ushio was a Japanese sprinter. He competed in the men's 100 metres, the men's 200 metres, and the men's 4x100 metres relay at the 1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an inte ...

of Japan. Abdul Khaliq won 3 medals including Gold in the 100m race, Silver in the 200m race, and Bronze Medal from the relay race in the 3rd Asian Games. With Khaliq's contributions, Pakistan secured 2nd position in Athletics and 6th in the overall rankings. Abdul Khaliq also 3 more medals in 1958 by taking part in different events held in Japan, China, and Scotland. He also took part in British Empire and Commonwealth Games held at Cardiff and was a semi-finalist in 100-yards clocking at 9.8 seconds.

1959

In 1959, Abdul Khaliq visited many countries like England, Sweden, Irish, Wales, Highland, Ireland and won 9 International Gold Medals, 7 International Silver Medal, and 4 International Bronze Medal by participated in many indifferent events held in multiple cities.

1960

1960 Olympic Games
Abdul Khaliq took part in the 1960 Olympic Games held in Rome but he could not qualify for next rounds in both 100m and relay race event. International Meet at Lahore
This event in which Khaliq won Gold Medal in 100m race with a time of 10.4 seconds and Bronze Medal in 200m race and again Gold Medal in relay race timing 41.5 seconds was picturized in the Indian movie

Bhaag Milkha Bhaag ''Bhaag Milkha Bhaag'' () is a 2013 Hindi-language biographical sports drama film directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra from a script written by Prasoon Joshi. The story is based on the life of Milkha Singh, an Indian athlete and Olympian who was ...

1960

In 1960, Abdul Khaliq lost against India's

Milkha Singh Milkha Singh (20 November 1929 18 June 2021), also known as The Flying Sikh, was an Indian track and field sprinter who was introduced to the sport while serving in the Indian Army. He is the only athlete to win gold at 400 metres at the A ...

held in Pakistan. After the race, General Ayub Khan of Pakistan, gave title to Milkha Singh as 'The Flying Sikh'.

Coaching career

Athletic coaches clinic attended

* 1967 at Murree for 6 weeks under German Coach * 1974 at Hassan Abdal under USA Coaches * 1976 at Lahore under Russian Coaches * 1981 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

Achievements

International Medals (numbers as per events) Presidential Award Khaliq was given the Presidential Award Pride of Performance in 1958 by President Ayub Khan for his achievements.

Medals (international)

Running statistics

External links

Official Facebook page

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khaliq Abdul 1933 births 1988 deaths Asian Games gold medalists for Pakistan Asian Games silver medalists for Pakistan Asian Games bronze medalists for Pakistan Asian Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1954 Asian Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1956 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1958 Asian Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1960 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1962 Asian Games Commonwealth Games competitors for Pakistan Medalists at the 1954 Asian Games Medalists at the 1958 Asian Games Olympic athletes of Pakistan Pakistan Navy personnel Pakistani male sprinters Pakistani prisoners of war in 1971 People from Chakwal District Punjabi people Recipients of the Pride of Performance award in 1958 Hashemite people Alids Awan Alvis