GLASGOW: The Commonwealth Games in Glasgow continued to be a challenging arena for Pakistan's swimmers on Saturday, as Hamza Asif and Hareem Malik both exited in the heats, while Jehanara Nabi and Ahmad Durrani also failed to make it past the preliminary rounds later in the day.
In the men's 50m freestyle, Hamza Asif finished with a time of 24.17 seconds, placing him 39th overall out of 68 participants. This performance left him more than a second behind the 23.02 seconds needed to secure a spot in the semi-finals, which meant he was significantly off the pace required to reach the top-16 cut.
Meanwhile, Hareem Malik competed in the women’s 100m breaststroke, where she ended up 27th out of 28 swimmers, clocking in at 1:22.51. Her race saw her turn at the 50m mark in 38.19 seconds, but she struggled considerably on the final length, recording a split time of 44.32 seconds. This left her nearly 12 seconds slower than the qualifying time of 1:10.70, and she trailed race leader Angharad Evans of Scotland by 16.17 seconds.
The disappointment for the Pakistani team continued into the evening session. Jehanara Nabi finished sixth in her heat of the women’s 200m freestyle, posting a time of 2:11.16, which was well off the 1:59.16 needed to qualify for the semi-finals. Similarly, Ahmad Durrani could not make an impact in the men’s 400m freestyle, finishing with a time of 4:14.85, which also did not qualify him for the final.
This latest round of results continues a troubling trend for Pakistan's swimmers, who had already faced a disappointing start to the Games, with both Jehanara and Ahmad failing to advance from their heats on the opening day. The lack of progress in the pool highlights the ongoing challenges faced by the country in competitive swimming on an international stage.
In addition to swimming, the struggles extended to lawn bowls, where Mohammad Ayub Qureshi suffered a 2-0 defeat against England’s Sam Tolchard, leaving him winless in his matches so far.
The Commonwealth Games have seen significant performances from other nations, particularly Australia, which has dominated the swimming events. Notably, Duncan Scott of Scotland broke Australia's stronghold in the pool by winning gold in the 200-metre individual medley, setting a Games record of 1:56.38. Scott's victory marked a significant achievement, adding to his total of four Commonwealth golds and 14 overall medals.
As the Games progress, the focus will shift to other events, while Pakistan's swimming team will hope to regroup and find a way to improve their performances in the upcoming competitions.
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