Abdul Khaliq -The Flying Bird Of Asia
The hero is the one whose abilities are acknowledged by the enemy. Abul Khaliq is one of the best athletes in history and is also known as Flying Bird of Asia or Parinda-e-Asia. This title was given by the Jawaharlal Nehru the Prime Minister of India of that time. He was invited as a chief guest in the Pak-Indo meet in 1956 in Dehli where Abdul Khaliq made a new record by winning the 100-meter race with a time of 10.4 seconds. He also defeated Lavy Pinto in a 200-meter race and made a new record of 21.4 seconds.
Selection as army athlete officer
Abdul Khaliq was born in Jand Awan, the village of Chakwal on March 23, 1933. At a young age, he was very captivated by Kabbadi. He was a very good player of Kabbadi and no one can beat him. In 1948 one day CHB Rodham, the head of the Army Sports Board of the time saw Abdul Khaliq playing Kabbadi and was impressed by him and selected him as an army athlete officier when he was 15 years old. During his training, he was revealed as a hidden treasure and he earned his name as a sprinter instead of a Kabbadi man. He proved himself at the national and international levels as the fastest man of Asia.
Asian Games and Olympics
In 1954 he participated in the Asian Games and once again he reset the world records. In a 100-meter race, he broke the record of Lavy Pinto of 10.8 seconds by completing the race in 10.6 seconds. He won a Silver medal in the 4 × 100 meter relay race. In 1956 he was added to the top seventh athlete of the Olympics due to his stunning performance in the Melbourne Olympics as a semi-finalist. He won 100 gold medals at the national level and at the international level he won 36 gold, 18 silver, and 12 bronze medals and he became the shining star of Pakistan. He was awarded by Presidential Award in 1958 by Ayub Khan. He was the first athlete in Pakistan who was awarded the Pride of Performance in sports.
Abdul Khaliq VS Mikha Singh
In 1960 he lost a race of 200 meters by Mikha Singh in Lahore. Mikha Singh earned the title of Flying Singh after defeating Abdul Khaliq by Ayub Khan. Mikha Singh gained fame at national and international levels by winning this game. the Indian Government acknowledged his accomplishments and tribute to him by building a Mikha Singh Sports Complex in Pune, the Indian government also honored him by publishing his autobiography The Race of My Life and making a movie Bhaag Mikha Bhaag. However, he had not won a single Gold medal in the Olympics.
Army Career
He was a Subedar in the army and also participated in the Pak-India wars of 1965 and 1971. He was also among the prisoners of 1971. When the Indian Prime Minister Indra Ghandi came to know about Abdul Khaliq she offered him that he could return to Pakistan. But Subedar Abdul Khaliq refused her offer and preferred imprisonment with his companions and returned after the Shimla agreement in 1972. He retired in 1978 and then he served Pakistan as national athlete coach in National Sports Trust. The King of Race left the world silently on March 10, 1988. When a hero dies he becomes a legend but we buried this legend due to our negligence. A nation that does not honor its heroes will not long endure. To become a living nation we have to recognize our true heroes and honour them.
It is not heroes that make history. But the history that makes heroes.