Zubair Qureshi
Neelofar Shiraz, 32, hailing from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Battagram district made history on Sunday when she broke down with her hand 1,000 bricks in just 27 minutes. Her previous record is that of 150 bricks.
This is for the first time that a female sportswoman has achieved this number in less than half an hour. Fit-Wit a local fitness centre had sponsored the event that had attracted quite a good numbers of spectators including Neelofar’s family members, her friends, coach Master Chen and general public.
With signal of ‘go’ from Master Chen Neelofar started breaking the bricks ‘two by two’ as on two cement blocks two bricks were perked.
With each strike of her right hand, the bricks came down splitting into four and as the number raised her supporters and family members cheered loudly to boost her morale.
With the 500th strike of her right hand, tore apart the 999th and 1000th bricks and the whole stadium echoed with thunderous applause.
It is a great moment for Pakistan, said Imtiaz Ahmed CEO of Fit-Wit who also announced Rs50,000 for Neelofar. We have recorded the entire event and we will send it to the Guinness Book team so that they could include it as the world record in brick breaking category, Imtiaz further said.
No one in the world has broken 1,000 bricks in a row, he further said. By doing 1000 bricks in less than half an hour, Neelofar Sherazi has set an example for the girls who are reluctant to follow their passion and feel scared in this male-chauvinistic society. While talking to media, she said she has not been approached by any government official, however, she hoped her talent would be recognized at national and international levels.
Sherazi is currently living in Islamabad. She is Masters in Chemistry and is working as an online teacher. However what makes her different from others is her passion for learning the art of brick breaking. She can break bricks with a swift strike of her right hand.
She started formal training in November 2018. Daily, Neelofar spends around two hours to practising this art, which is less common in Pakistan particularly among women.
Neelofar said in her childhood, she used to be a shy girl and always cried when someone bullied her.
“Whenever in class or playground someone intimidated me, I became so upset that I spent hours crying and rubbing my eyes and I did this so often that it affected my eyesight.”
In order to overcome her fears of bullies, Neelofar resorted to brick breaking, “something my family or my friends and colleagues had never heard of before nor would have approved it had I not persisted.”
I want to make a world record of breaking eight blocks with a single strike, she said. Currently, she is practicing five.
At a local club of Islamabad Neelofar received training from a Martial Arts veteran Master Chen. Terming Neelofar an unusually strong-nerved, persistent athlete, Master Chen said she was doing great by practising daily without fail.
