August is proving to be a great month for Pakistan, as far as achievements are concerned. The latest additions to the list of athletes who have won accolades for Pakistan include Ahmed Amin Bodla and Waqas Ali.
Talking about Bodla first, he is Pakistan’s Taekwondo champion. Twenty-two years of age, the black-belt recently broke the Guinness World Record for the most squat-thrusts in a single minute with 18kg (40 pounds) attached on his back.
He did 23 repetitions and as a result, beat the record of 21, which was previously held by English athlete Paddy Douyle.
Speaking to the APP, Bodla said:
“It is a great honor for me to make records for my country. I worked very hard for these performances. I have achieved a lot of international recognition over the last few years.”
He expressed his grief that the concerned authorities didn’t support or facilitate worthy and talented individuals.
He said,
“The priorities of the concerned sports authorities don’t give any importance to athletes other than the cricketers.”
Bodla has 32 records to his name, on behalf of which he is the first Pakistani athlete to be inducted in the US Martial Arts Hall Of Fame. Five of his 32 records have been recognized by the coveted jury of Guinness World Records.
When it comes to the field of Computer Sciences, students have made Pakistan proud, globally. The latest addition to the ranks is Waqas Ali, who just recently won third prize (bronze medal) at the illustrious Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship (MOSWC) 2015, held in Dallas, Texas.
Ali was the lone participant in 600,000 who represented Pakistan at the coveted event. Ecstatic on his achievement, he expressed his excitement by saying that,
“My feelings are indescribable, but most of all, I am proud and happy that I’ve won. This was the very first time for Pakistan at this event, I was the only one representing and I’ve won. But no – this isn’t only my win; this also includes my family, TEC Education Foundation, my friends, who have supported me massively.”
Centriport, who were the main organizers of the event, awarded Ali a scholarship worth $1500, a trophy, a bronze medal and of course some Microsoft products for his outstanding abilities and amazing command on the software of Microsoft Office.
Aaron Osmand, the executive of Centriport said:
“These achievers are part of an elite group that has the knowledge on how to use Microsoft Powerpoint efficiently and to its full potential. We are proud to support this competition.”
Alison Cunard, General Manager, Learning Experience (Microsoft), also said kind and motivating words for the participants. She said:
“More than 1.2 billion people acquire the services of Microsoft Office globally, and these students have taken out the time to segregate themselves amongst the best of the best.”
Pakistan excels, our homeland excels, because it has immense talent. Be it sports, education or any other field, we have the ability to take over the world and mesmerize people with our explosive and mind-blowing attributes.