Faryal Farooq ended a four-year pursuit on Tuesday when she shattered the national discus record during the athletics competition at the 35th National Games in Karachi.
The Army thrower had spent years chasing the mark, training across dusty hometown fields in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and later at departmental camps.
But until her final attempt on day fourth of the event, the record continued to slip away.
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Her first four throws fell short, and the familiar uncertainty crept in.
The long-standing 38.21-metre mark looked safe once again.
Before her last attempt, her coach Ashraf Ali stepped forward.
He offered no instructions, only a quiet reminder in Urdu: “Maan jao ga tmhain agar record tod diya” (I will be proud of you if you break the record).
“Those words lit a fire in me,” Faryal told Dawn News as she relived the moment.
She returned to the circle with calm focus, spun with force and released the discus into a perfect arc.
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The stadium briefly fell still as it sailed through the air before landing well beyond her previous efforts.
Officials measured it: 38.21 metres, a new national record.
The announcement sparked loud applause from athletes and spectators.
For Faryal, it was relief, joy and fulfilment all at once.
“After hearing my coach’s words, I put everything into the final throw,” she said.
“We get few opportunities to compete throughout the year, so I train all year for one event and try to leave my heart out in the field,” she added.
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But even in that moment of triumph, she highlighted the structural problems facing Pakistani athletes.
She spoke openly about the lack of confidence many feel due to limited competitions and insufficient facilities.
“There’s a lack of confidence in our athletes,” she admitted.
“I am a champion, but I still feel this way,” she further added.
Faryal called for more national-level events, at least three annually, so athletes can compete and grow without carrying the pressure of rare opportunities.
“When we see the training standards and technique of athletes from other countries, we get demotivated. We can’t even perform at the level we are capable of,” she said.
She pointed to Olympic star Arshad Nadeem as an example of how support can elevate performance.
“Arshad is our star, no doubt about that. So if facilities can be provided for him, then why not to us?”
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Faryal’s own journey has been shaped by limited access to proper grounds in her hometown, forcing her to rely on her department’s training camps.
“The only way I can train properly is when I attend camps with my department,” she said.
“If I had facilities in my local area, that would be great.”
But on Tuesday, none of those challenges mattered.
In the space of one perfect throw, she broke a barrier that had followed her for years, and used her moment to speak for every athlete still waiting for a fair chance to rise.
