Subedar Abdul Khaliq (Punjabi, ; 23 March 1933 – 10 March 1988), also known by his nickname Parinda-e-Asia پرندہ ایشیاء (Urdu for The Flying Bird of Asia),Somak Adhikari. Remembering Abdul Khaliq, The Flying Bird Of Asia And Milkha Singh's Arch-Rival On The Track. 29 October 2019. India Times. was a Pakistani sprinter. He won 36 international gold medals, 15 international silver medals, and 12 international bronze medals while representing Pakistan, including as a military officer for the 8th Medium Artillery Regiment at military games.
He represented Pakistan in the 100m, 200m, and 4 × 100m relay at the 1956 and 1960 Summer Olympics, the 1954 and 1958 Asian Games, and the 1954 and 1958 Commonwealth Games.
Early life Khaliq was born on 23 March 1933, in Jand, in the Chakwal district of Punjab province, British India to an Awan family. He developed an interest in Kabaddi, and during one of his matches, his performance caught the attention of Brigadier Rodham, the head of the Pakistan Army Sports Control Board, who subsequently recruited Khaliq to join the Army's Boys Company.
International career
1954
Asian Games In the 1954 Asian Games, Abdul Khaliq set a new Asian Games record of 100 meters in 10.6 seconds by beating the previous record of 10.8 seconds, held by Lavy Pinto of India in 1951, and was dubbed the Fastest Man of Asia. Abdul Khaliq won gold and silver medals in 100-meter and relay races, respectively, in the 1954 Asian Games. The Indian Prime Minister at the time, Jawaharlal Nehru, who was reportedly captivated by his performance during the event and chief guest, dubbed him "The Flying Bird of Asia".
Commonwealth and British Empire Games Abdul Khaliq was a 100-yard semi-finalist and a 4x110-yard finalist in the 1954 Commonwealth and British Games.
1955 In 1955, Abdul Khaliq took part in the World Military Games held in Athens, Greece.
1956
Indo-Pak Meet at Delhi At the first Indo-Pak Athletics meet in Delhi in 1956, Abdul Khaliq set new Asian records in both the 100 and 200-meter events.
Abdul Khaliq won the 100-meter dash by defeating Indian athlete V.K. Rai, winning the gold medal with a time of 10.4 seconds. He also won the 200-meter race by defeating Lavy Pinto of India and set a new record by clocking in 21.4 seconds.
World Military Games at Berlin At the 1956 World Military Games in Berlin, Abdul Khaliq won three bronze medals. He finished third in the final of the 100 meters with a time of 10.4 seconds, matching his Delhi time. His other two bronze medals came in the 200 m individual, and 4x100 meter relays.
Pakistan Athletics Training Program in England During the Pakistan Athletics Training Program in England, Abdul Khaliq defeated Britain’s top sprinters, Shaton and Spooner, in both the 100-yard and 200-yard sprints. He won the 100-yard sprint in 10.1 seconds at an international meet during the Highland Games on a turf track made wet by heavy morning rain. In this event, he triumphed over athletes from 15 European countries.
Victorian Relay Championship Abdul Khaliq ran a 100-meter race in 10.4 seconds, equaling the Australian National record at Olympic Park. Khaliq's time was only one-tenth of a second slower than Bobby Morrow's gold medal-winning time in the Olympic Games 100-meter final. He won the Gold medal in the 100 meters and the 4x100 yards.
Melbourne Olympics In the 1956 Summer Olympics, Abdul Khaliq reached the semi-finals in both the 100-meter and 200-meter races at the Olympics. In the 200-meter semi-finals, he clocked a time of 21.1 seconds, securing 4th place. This performance placed him among the top seven athletes in the competition.
On 24 November 1956, the day of the semi-finals and finals of the 100-meter race, Abdul Khaliq ran as the anchor for Pakistan’s winning team in the 4x110-yard Victorian Relay Championship. He helped his team extend a 10-yard lead and finish in 41.6 seconds—just one-tenth of a second shy of the national record held by the Australian Olympic team.
Final Standings in Melbourne Olympics Rank Athlete Team Medal 1 Bobby Joe Morrow United States Gold 2 Thane Baker United States Silver 3 Hec Hogan Australia Bronze 4 Ira Murchison United States 5 Manfred Germar Germany 6 Mike Agostini Trinidad and Tobago 4 h1 r3/4 Abdul Khaliq Pakistan 4 h2 r3/4 Morrie Rae New Zealand 5 h1 r3/4 Stan Levenson Canada 5 h2 r3/4 Marian Foik Poland
1957 In 1957, Abdul Khaliq won 11 international gold medals and 1 international silver medal by participating in multiple events held in England, Iran, Greece, and Scotland.
1958
Asian Games Khaliq participated in the 1958 Asian Games. He defended his title in the 100-meter race by defeating Kyohei Ushio of Japan. Abdul Khaliq won 3 medals: gold in the 100 meter race, silver in the 200-meter race, and bronze in the relay race. With Khaliq's performance, Pakistan secured 2nd position in Athletics and 6th in the overall rankings.
Commonwealth Games Abdul Khaliq also won 3 more medals in 1958 by taking part in different events held in Japan, China, and Scotland. He also participated in the 1958 Commonwealth Games held in Cardiff and was a semi-finalist in 100 yards, clocking 9.8 seconds.
1959 In 1959, Abdul Khaliq participated in many countries, including the United Kingdom, Sweden and Ireland. He won 9 international gold medals, 7 international silver medal, and 4 international bronze medals through several events.
1960
Olympic Games Abdul Khaliq took part in the 1960 Olympic Games held in Rome but he did not qualify for the next rounds in both 100 meters and eters relay race events.
International Meet at Lahore In this event, Khaliq won a gold medal in the 100-meter race with a time of 10.4 seconds, a bronze medal in the 200-meter race, and another gold medal in the 4 x 100-meter relay race, clocking 41.5 seconds. This event was depicted in the Indian movie Bhaag Milkha Bhaag.
Coaching career Following his retirement, Khaliq started his coaching career with Army, where he coached in 1965, 1966, 1967, 1970 and 1971. He coached Punjab in 1974 and 1975, before becoming the national coach from 1974 to 1978.
Personal life and death Coming from a family of athletes, Khaliq's younger brother Abdul Malik also was an athlete. Khaliq was held as a prisoner of war in India after the 1971 war. In recognition of his athletic achievements, the Indian government offered to release him but Khaliq turned down the offer, refusing any preferential treatment.
Khaliq had four sons. The eldest Ghulam Abbas and his younger brother Mohammad Ashfaq also served in the Pakistan Army. Mohammad Ashfaq died when the tractor he was driving overturned near his village. The third son, Mohammad Ejaz was a coach of athletics in Pakistan Sports Board while the youngest son, Abdul Razzaq, was an instructor of physical education in the village school.
Khaliq died on March 10, 1988 in Rawalpindi.
Legacy Khaliq is widely considered one of Pakistan's greatest athletes and a key figure in the Golden Age of Pakistani athletics during the 1950s and 1960s. To introduce his legacy to a new generation, a biopic about his life has been in development since 2024. His legendary rivalry with Indian sprinter Milkha Singh, particularly at the 1960 Lahore Meet, was previously depicted in the 2013 Bollywood film Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, where Indian actor Dev Gill portrayed Khaliq.
Achievements
International Medals (numbers as per events)
100 y09002120 y0200100 m130804220 y020101200 m0704044*110 y01004*100 m020201Total361512
Presidential Award Ribbon Decoration Country Year Pride of Performance 1958 Khaliq was given the Presidential Award Pride of Performance in 1958 by the President of Pakistan Ayub Khan in recognition of his outstanding achievements and contribution to athletics.
Medals (international) Sr. No. Year Venue Country Competitions Event Medal TimeRepresented 1 1954 Manila Philippines 2nd Asian Games 100m Gold 10.6sec (New Asian Record) 2 1954 Manila Philippines 2nd Asian Games4*100mSilver41.5 sec 3 1954 Madawala England Triangular Meet 100m Gold 4 1956 Delhi India Pakistan vs India 100m Gold 10.4sec(New Asian Record) (New Pakistan Record) 5 1956 Delhi India Pakistan vs India 200m Gold 21.4sec(New Asian record) (New Pakistan Record) 6 1956 Delhi India Pakistan vs India 4*100m Silver 7 1956 Berlin Germany International MilitaryTrack and Field Championship 100m Bronze 10.4sec 8 1956 Berlin Germany International Military Track and Field Championship 200m Bronze 21.4/10sec 9 1956 England England Pakistan AthleticsTraining Programme 100y Gold 10.1sec 10 1956 London England England National Competitions 100m Silver 11 1956 Edinburgh Scotland Highland Games 100y Gold 12 1956 Kelang Australia International Meet Australia 200m Silver 13 1956 Victoria Australia Victorian Relay Championship 100m Gold 10.4 sec 14 1956 Victoria Australia Victorian Relay Championship 4* 100m Gold 41.6 sec 15 1956 Bendigo Australia International Meet Australia 100m Bronze 16 1956 England England Victorian Open Competitions 100m Gold 17 1957 White City England London vs New York 100y Gold 18 1957 White City England London vs New York 100m Gold 10.6sec 19 1957 Glasgow England Rangers Meet 120y Gold 11.6sec 20 1957 Glasgow England Rangers Meet 220y Gold 21.8sec 21 1957 Manchester England International Competitions 100y Gold 9.6sec 22 1957 Manchester England Open Meet 100y Gold 23 1957 Dublin Ireland Irish International Meet 100y Gold 24 1957 Tehran Iran Pak Iran Competitions 100m Gold 10.8sec 25 1957 Tehran Iran Pak Iran Competitions 200m Gold 22sec 26 1957 Tehran Iran Pak Iran Competitions 4*100m Gold 40.8sec 27 1957 Athens Greece World Military Meet Athens 100m Silver 28 1957 Edinburgh Scotland Highland Games 100y Gold 9.9sec 29 1958 Tokyo Japan Japan International 100m Silver 30 1958 Hong Kong China International Meet 100m Gold 31 1958 Tokyo Japan 3rd Asian Games 100m Gold 10.9sec 32 1958 Tokyo Japan 3rd Asian Games 200m Silver 21.7sec 33 1958 Tokyo Japan 3rd Asian Games 4*100m Bronze 41.5 34 1958 Edinburgh Scotland Dual Empire Games 100y Bronze 9.9sec 35 1959 Bradford England International Meet England 100y Gold 10.1sec 36 1959 Bradford England International Meet England 220y Silver 37 1959 Bright Hill England International Meet England 100y Gold 38 1959 Dublin Ireland Irish International Meet 100m Gold 39 1959 Dublin Ireland Irish International Meet 200m Gold 40 1959 Cardiff Wales Wales International 100m Gold 41 1959 Cardiff Wales Wales International 200m Gold 42 1959 Glasgow Scotland International Meet 120y Gold 11.6sec 43 1959 Malmö Sweden International Meet 100m Silver 44 1959 Malmö Sweden International Meet 200m Silver 45 1959 Gävle Sweden International Meet 200m Silver 21.9sec 46 1959 Stockholm Sweden International Meet 100m Silver 10.7sec 47 1959 Stockholm Sweden International Meet 200m Bronze 21.6sec 48 1959 Borås Sweden International Meet 200m Gold 49 1959 Gothenburg Sweden International Meet 100m Silver 21.8sec 50 1959 Edinburgh Scotland Highland Games 100m Silver 51 1959 Dublin Ireland International Track and Field Meet 220y Gold 22.2sec 52 1959 Cardiff Wales International Dual Meet 100y Bronze 10sec 53 1959 Cardiff Wales International Dual Meet 220y Bronze 54 1959 Malmö Sweden International Meet 100m Bronze 10.6sec 55 1960 Lahore Pakistan First youth Festival and Triangular International Meet 100m Gold 10.4sec 56 1960 Lahore Pakistan First youth Festival and Triangular International Meet 200m Bronze 57 1960 Lahore Pakistan First youth Festival and Triangular International Meet 4*100m Gold 41.5sec 58 1960 Medawala England International Games 200m Gold 59 1960 Cairo Egypt Egypt International Games 100m Gold 60 1960 Cairo Egypt Egypt International Games 200m Gold 61 1962 's-Hertogenbosch Netherlands World Military Games 100m Bronze 62 1962 Ipoh Malaysia International Meet 100m Silver 63 1962 Ipoh Malaysia International Meet 200m Bronze 22.1sec
Running statistics