Irfan Mehsud, an athlete from South Waziristan with 100 Guinness World Records in martial arts and fitness, returned a cheque for Rs500,000 on Wednesday. The cheque was a prize from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Sports Department.
In videos he shared on his X (Twitter) account, Mehsud explained why he returned the money. He said he was upset with how the KP Sports Department’s officers treated him with disrespect.
Mehsud recounted meeting with officials from the sports department, including the provincial sports minister, secretary, and director general. He had asked them for equipment for his club. Instead of addressing his request, the officials tried to negotiate, offering him a lower amount of Rs200,000.
“I asked for equipment for my club,” Mehsud said. “They started bargaining, suggesting I take Rs200,000.” He felt insulted by this treatment. “If you can’t respect us, don’t insult us,” he said.
Irfan Mehsud is the first Pakistani to achieve 100 Guinness World Records, earning the Presidential Pride of Performance Award. He broke the record of Italy’s Marcello Ferri, who lifted 56kg with his toe. Irfan surpassed this record by lifting 63kg with his toe.
In the push-ups category, Irfan holds 46 records, more than anyone else in the world. He has set records with different weights, including 100 pounds, 80 pounds, 60 pounds, and 40 pounds.
Besides push-ups, Irfan has records in various activities, like jumping jacks, step-ups, strikes, elbow strikes, high jump, and star jumps. He has broken records from 16 countries, including the USA, the UK, India, China, Norway, Germany, France, and Finland.
