Muhammad Atique Chaudary was born on 23rd September 1983 in the capital of Balochistan (Quetta). Atique was born in a family where Badminton ran in their blood. His father, Muhammad Rafiq also played Badminton and already had a Champion son, Muhammad Shafique; the elder brother of Muhammad Atique. Atique, watching his brother train and receiving fame and love by his fans, developed love for Badminton and wanted to continue the domination his family had over Pakistan Badminton. As his brother noticed the increasing love & passion for the game in Atique, he did not hesitate to invest for his brother. He trained and guided Atique from a very young age as a professional athlete should be.
As soon as his brother was confident in Atique, he allowed his 11 years old brother to make a debut in professional badminton. The first tournament he played at Provincial level was an U-14 tournament held in his hometown, where he proved his skills to his brother by becoming U-14 Boys Doubles Champion.
Muhammad Atique belonged to a city where Badminton was not very popular and he did not see much opportunities there. In 2000, after the consent of his family, he moved to Lahore and joined New Khan Badminton Academy and trained under Tayyab Sohail. His selection in the academy proved vital for his career as he had all the facilities and support provided by the owner, Amir Hayat Rokhri. People never expected that a player from Balochistan, after his brother, would come up to this level. In 2000, Atique won his first trophy for his academy when he became the National Junior (U-19) Champion. After grabbing a junior title, his hunger to perform in the senior category increased.
He never lacked the hard work required to reach the top of Pakistan Badminton. Atique showed determination in each and every training session. 2 years later, he made his debut in the senior category and in the same year produced a major upset by beating the top ranked Waqas Ahmed in All Pakistan Ranking Tournament (2002) held in Abbottabad. Atique successfully proved to all the Badminton players how lethal he could be!
These early performances catched the eye of selectors of the WAPDA Badminton Team and in 2004 the respective department offered Atique Chaudary to join their team as they thought he could be an asset for their future. Atique Chaudary, who at that time was a rising star in Pakistan Badminton, accepted their offer and became a part of Team WAPDA. Moreover, his passion did not die after becoming a National player, and so he went on to wear the ‘Green Kit’ and represented Pakistan in Thomas Cup 2004, Malaysia.
Moving on, Pakistan Badminton Federation also showed interest in investing for him when they selected him for a 2 year training camp (2005-2006) coached by Tariq Farooq at Islamabad. This camp, according to Atique Chaudary, proved vital for many players in Pakistan including him, as many National players today were assisted from this camp. During this camp he also played tournaments side by side. In the National Championship 2005 and 2006, he won Gold medal in the Team event. Furthermore, the purpose of this camp was mainly to prepare for SAF Games 2006 Srilanka, where he did not lag behind in helping his team to bag Bronze medal in Men’s Doubles and Team Event. In the same year, he again joined Thomas Cup Pakistan Badminton team. Atique, in National Championship 2006, made another breakthrough by beating the defending champion, Umer Zeeshan.
The last achievement for Atique in 2006 was winning a bronze medal at Fajr International held in Iran. In 2007, he participated in one of the most prestigious tournaments held every 4 years, National games (Karachi). There he represented his team WAPDA and was crowned as gold medalist. Moreover, he won Team event (WAPDA), & Men’s doubles and Mixed doubles in National Championship held at Lahore in 2007. In the same year he clinched bronze medal in Men’s doubles at Fajr International hosted in Iran and Gold medal in Syria International badminton Championship 2007.
The exposure he got from these overseas competitions boosted his confidence, so he went on to play the final of Men’s Doubles at Pakistan International Challenge 2007. The next two years also brought him many trophies and exposure. In 2008, he remained a consistent member of Thomas Cup Pakistan Badminton Team. Moreover, Muhammad Atique won a Gold medal in Men’s Doubles at Syria International and a Silver medal in Men’s Doubles at Nepal International Championships 2008. These performances of Atique Chaudary convinced the manager of New Khan Badminton Academy, Amir Hayat Rokhri to send him for an International training camp in Bulgaria, where Atique got 1 month professional Badminton training. Upon coming back he helped his team win the National Championship 2008 and his Unit NTDC to win WAPDA Inter Unit 2008.
In All Pakistan Ranking tournament 2008 held at his training center New Khan, he made a record, that is still unbroken, as he turned out to be Tetra crown by winning all the respective categories: Men’s Singles, Men’s Doubles, Mixed Doubles and Team event.In the following year Amir Hayat Rokhri sponsored him for a training camp at Malaysia,where he trained under the supervision of Misbun Sadiq, which was also fruitful for him as he went on to win Gold medal in Mixed doubles and Runner up in Men’s Doubles at Syria International Championship 2009. However, in 2009 Atique had to face a tendon injury while playing against his badminton fellow Atif Nadeem in Sialkot. After analysing the severity of his injury, the doctors gave him shocking news-a fear of every player- he might not be able to continue Badminton.
This was not easy to digest for him, or for any athlete, as he had many future goals yet to achieve. As it is said, God has a plan for every person, and Muhammad Atique wasn't meant to retire so soon. Things temporarily took a fall and he went through a dark phase of demotivation. In this time, his family and WAPDA offered huge roles in emotional, as well as financial support. He stayed a part of his team, and was offered aid for the rehabilitation process. Hard roads lead to beautiful destinations, and same was the case with Atique. It took 7 months for him to fully recover from his injury and he surprised everyone by reaching the Final of the next tournament he played. He faced the same injury in 2014 but fought with the same spirit as he did before and returned back to competitive badminton. He did not hold back for a long time and became National Champion in Men’s doubles (with Awais Zahid) by beating Kashif Sulehri/ Murad Ali in the Finals.
Atique is still on the top in Men’s Doubles being the top ranked pair with Raja Hasnain. He was also top ranked with his previous partner, Awais zahid, with whom he has won several tournaments. In 2016 he represented WAPDA in National Championship and played a major role in lifting the trophy for his team. In the same tournament he bagged a silver medal in Men’s Doubles (With Awais Zahid) . The following year, he came out as a champion in 3rd PNSC All Pakistan Ranking Championship in Men’s Doubles (with Awais Zahid). In 2018,he partnered Raja Muhammad Hasnain and proved how well he could adjust with different partners. With his new partner, the first tournament he played was National Championship 2018 where they got into the finals. Recently, he went to play the South Asian Games (2019) in Nepal and bagged 2 bronze medals: Men’s doubles and Team Event. Till now, the duo of Raja Hasnain and Muhammad Atique is dominating, being the top pair in Pakistan Badminton.
Conclusion
Muhammad Atique is a true champion and inspiration of Pakistani Badminton Players. Due to his effort, determination, and resistance, Atique proved as a valuable player for the country. His achievements as described above are what shaped him into a true Pro-Badminton player, still challenging many and maintaining his position. Pakistan Badminton is, and will always be proud of him.
Pakistan most naughty player in badminton.
ReplyDeleteHe is the most dangerous player I ever faced in badminton.
Technically sound.
Lovely personality.