Sana Mahmud is a Pakistani footballer. She has represented both the National Women’s Basketball and Football teams. She has a unique title in that she remained captain of both Women’s Basketball and Football teams.
Biography
Sana Mahmud was born to a very disciplined family in Islamabad. Sana’s parents encourage the kids to play outdoor games instead of indoor entertainment. The encouragement and exposure leaned Sana towards sports. She started planning to join sports as a profession. At only 17 years old, Sana played her first national-level tournament.
Education
Sana started her schooling in her native town. She joined Bahria University for her Bachelor’s and completed her degree in social sciences. Unlike regular professional players, Sana was a very brilliant and shining student. She got a Fullbright scholarship. Sana completed her master’s at Ohio University. She did her master’s in International Development.
Career Football
Sana Mahmud has given trials at Young Rising Stars FFC. The committee selected her among the 35 girls selected out of 70. The founder of FFC, Ghias Uddin Baloch, made Sana the Young Rising Stars FFC captain. Under her captaincy, the team won the title in 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, & 2013.
2010, the team participated in the SAFF Women’s Championship in Bangladesh. She and Hajra Khan were key players. They played very well and succeeded in reaching the Semi-Finals.
Career Basketball
During her university years, Sana started playing basketball and football at the university level. Sana was an equally good basketball player. She became captain of the Women’s National Basketball. Under her captaincy, the team has won against Afghanistan. Again, Sana played remarkably and scored the highest score.
She represented Pakistan in the South Asian Games in 2016 in India. In 2017, she represented the National Team in the Islamic Games in Azerbaijan.
Community Service
Sana is not only an athlete but also an active member of society. She gave her services in multiple areas. Sana got an Alumni Small Grant. Pakistan-U.S. Alumni Network and the U.S. Mission in Pakistan jointly award ASG. Sana remained part of Muslim Aid. Muslim Aid is a U.K.-based NGO.
Sana played a significant role in promoting girls’ football in Pakistan. In this regard, she has worked with Total Football. Total Football is a football academy in Rawalpindi serving the youth. She worked as a project manager at Right to Play. Right to Play was formed in 2010 to promote sports in Pakistan.
Projects
Sana Mahmud performed well in her studies. She and her team won 20000 US$ and obtained the first position. They proposed a mobile application using extra Bluetooth. The application has some security measures against the sexual assault prevailing in U. S college campuses. In 2015, the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication’s annual conference was held in San Francisco, California. The speakers discussed and appreciated the mobile application Sana and her team proposed.
In 2014, Sana and her team did a case study of Sport and Health Living through an Education Abroad Initiative. For this study she designed a program for children in rural Ecuador to educate the community about Chagas disease. They created a football curriculum for the children living in villages in Loja province. They gave a two-week curriculum to kids to update them about Chagas disease.
Captaincy
Sana Mahmud became the Pakistan National Women’s Soccer team captain in 2010. In 2012, the federation again selected her as captain. In 2016, the Basketball Federation selected Sana as Pakistan National Women’s Basketball captain for the 12th South Asian Games.
She remained the captain of the Pakistan Army Basketball Team from 2017-2019. Under her captaincy, the team won a silver medal at the National Women’s Basketball Championship.
Awards and Contributions
In August 2012, Sana got a merit scholarship and Summa Cum Laude Honour from Bahria University. Sana got a Fulbright scholarship in August 2013. 2014, she got the Fulbright Enrichment Seminar for the “Leadership in Action-Advocating for Civil Rights”.
Sana got distinction by winning a gold medal in Women’s Basketball at the 32nd National Games. She played tremendously well and was awarded the Most Valuable Player award in 2015 in the National Championship. In the 16th National Basketball Championship, she won a silver medal. To get her services, the Islamabad Basketball Association has given Sana an honorary position in the Islamabad Basketball Association.
Marriage
Sana found a sportsman spouse. Wahih Zafar is a professional bodybuilder and former rugby player. San and Wajiah have a son named Eyad. Eyad was born in December 2020.
Conclusion
To conclude, Sana is a multi-talented personality. She has performed heroically in all fields, including studies, football, basketball, and coaching. Sana has set an example for the youngsters: if you work hard passionately, no hurdle can stop you in any field. Indeed, she is a role model for female youngsters.