Pakistan’s junior swimming team delivered a stellar performance at the 2025 World Junior Swimming Championships in Otopeni, Romania, with Rayan Awan and Azlan Sohail shattering multiple national records.
Rayan Awan rewrote history in the Men’s 50m Breaststroke, clocking 30.87 to surpass the 17-year-old record of 30.98 set by Abdul Aziz Chaudhry in 2007, a mark older than Rayan himself.
He placed 58th out of 86 swimmers and also swam 1:10.06 in the 100m Breaststroke and 2:41.71 in the 200m Breaststroke.
Azlan Sohail, hailed as the junior medley king, dominated the Under-16 category, smashing the 200m Individual Medley record with 2:14.18, beating Ahmed Durrani’s 2:20.22, and finishing 47th out of 73.
In the 400m Individual Medley, he clocked 4:54.68, eclipsing Muhammad Amaan Siddiqui’s 2022 record of 4:57.86. Competing in 10 events, Azlan posted 26.72 in the 50m Butterfly (80th), 1:00.10 in the 100m Butterfly (73rd), and 54.73 in the 100m Freestyle (93rd).
Ali Mitha shone with 25.95 in the 50m Butterfly (61st), 25.06 in the 50m Freestyle (81st), and 1:01.19 in the 100m Backstroke (52nd). Mohid Sadiq Lone added 2:24.33 in the 200m Backstroke and 2:41.02 in the 200m Breaststroke.
The Mixed 4x100m Freestyle Relay team, including Azlan, Ali, Hareem Malik, and Meher Maqbool, set a national record of 4:10.45.
On the women’s side, Hareem Malik excelled with a 36.12 in the 50m Breaststroke and 30.71 in the 50m Freestyle, outpacing Fatima Salman.
The women’s quartet broke two records: 4:48.46 in the 4x100m Freestyle Relay and 5:12.55 in the 4x100m Medley Relay, as confirmed by the Pakistan Swimming Federation.
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