Hajra Khan is a Pakistani footballer. She was a born athlete. Besides Football, she has also represented Pakistan in athletics and Basketball.
Biography
Hajra Khan was born to a Kashmiri family in Karachi on December 29, 1993. She has started her schooling in her native town. Hajra’s performance in school games was remarkable as a small kid. She has decided to become a professional athlete. She was able to represent Pakistan in the Salwan Games held in India in 2004. She ran a half marathon in the fun.
Later, Hajra started taking an interest in Football. Quickly, she developed her passion for Football. She was just 14 when she impressed the Diya Women’s Football Club selectors during the trials for Sindh’s provincial football team. She played as a striker or midfield player.
Professional Career
Hajra Khan has given a remarkable entry in the National Championship. She has scored nine goals in 3 matches. Her team became the winner due to her performance and won the title of the tournament’s top scorer. She continued her escalating journey onwards.
2010, she won the Misha Dawood trophy in the National Women’s Football Championship. Later, she joined Balochistan United in 2014. Balochistan United won the National Women’s Football Championship. In the final, Hajra scored the only goal of the match.
Observing her marvellous performance, the Maldivian club Sun offered her to play, where she played FAM Women’s Football Championship. Later, Hajra went to Germany in 2015, where she participated in four clubs. The clubs were doing pre-season trials.
The MSV Duisburg has offered her, but due to visa issues, she could not join. However, Hajra continued the efforts and joined Sun Hotels and Resorts Maldives club. Later, she got an offer from the Pakistan Army and is currently playing for the Pakistan Army.
International Career
The selectors selected Hajra Khan for the Pakistan national team in 2009. The choice is for the 2010 South Asian Games. Later, the Pakistan Football Federation sent her for the FIFA Women’s football coaching course in Colombo, Sri Lanka. She played for the Pakistan team in the SAFF Women’s Championship. Due to her performance, the Pakistani team reached the semi-final.
Captaincy
Hajra Khan became Pakistan’s Women’s football team captain in 2014. She was only 20 years old at that time. Under her captaincy, the Pakistani team has won many international matches.
Basketball
As I said earlier, she is a born athlete. She remained part of the Pakistan Beach Netball team when the team won bronze at the South Asian Beach Games. She is also a member of Pakistan’s National Basketball team.
Awards and Contributions
Hajra Khan is the only Pakistani player to play abroad. She has completed a century of goals in her club career; Hajra was the first Pakistani footballer to achieve this target. She has another unique record: the top three German football clubs have offered Hajra to play with the side. These clubs are Sindelfingen, SGS Essen, and Gütersloh.
She is a board member of UNDP Pakistan for youth programs. Hajra is honoured to be in the Malala Fund Top 18 game changers. She is a TEDx speaker.
Hajra has a unique record in Pakistan: she played the Guinness World Record for being the only Pakistani footballer among 25 countries. The Guinness World Record is the lowest altitude football match played in the Dead Sea in Jordan.
Conclusion
To conclude, Hajra is an outstanding performer. She represented Pakistan as an athlete, a football player, and a basketball player. She has proved that there is no limit to hard work. Hajra is a role model, especially for the females who want to excel in sports. She founded Fortis Sports Academy to transfer her skills to Pakistan’s youth.