Karachi: 70-year-old Pakistani welder Naseem Uddin, who holds the world record for crushing most apples in a hand in a minute, says he now aims to break any record.
Naseem Uddin was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records earlier this month, replacing Donnie Baxter of England, who crushed 13 apples.
The entry reads, “The most apples crushed by hand in one minute is 18 and was achieved by Naseem Uddin (Pakistan) on 13 November 2021 in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.”
The record was achieved at his son’s martial arts academy in Karachi on the occasion of Guinness World Records Day 2021.
“It’s been 70 years, (but) my heart is young, I have strength,” Naseem Uddin told Arab News at his welding shop in Karachi. About six decades ago, in search of a better livelihood in Karachi, Naseem Uddin left his village near Faisalabad city in Punjab and became a welder.
“I have been working hard since the day I left my village,” he said. “I have been doing this (welding) from morning till evening and till midnight.”
His journey to become a world record holder was inspired by his son and granddaughter, both of whom also hold Guinness records. It was his son, Mohammad Rashid, who showed Naseem Uddin a video of the previous record holder crushing an apple and taught his father how to do it.
“And then I crushed it, I broke it as he gave it to me,” said Naseem Uddin.
Rashid was sure that his father could break the world record.
“The record was about hand strength and I’ve seen my father doing a tough job with his hands, working with iron, casting it and I was confident he would do it,” he told Arab News. “My father has set an example and told people that age is just a number. The person who has been my inspiration throughout my life has achieved something and I cannot express my happiness in words.”
Rashid, who owns a martial arts school in Karachi, himself holds dozens of world records and the titles of “Bruce Lee of Pakistan” and “serial record breaker”. His achievements include most hand-crushed walnuts in one minute, most head-crushed watermelons in 30 seconds, most soda canes crushed with elbows in one minute, and most spins of a Fire Staff in one minute.
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, as well as using his fists and elbows as smashing instruments, he holds several records using the nunchaku and a bo staff – both traditional mixed martial arts weapons.
“His record-breaking journey began in 2013, when he broke the record for most bottle caps with heads in one minute (40) at the Punjab Youth Sports Festival, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan,” the record website says. “A year later, he went on the Italian television show Lo show dei record to break his own record, achieving 61.”
Seven years later, Rashid’s record-breaking appetite has grown. He broke 14 records in 2020, including the fastest time to remove 10 bottle caps with a nunchaku, achieving a time of 17.82 seconds.
Rashid has also coached his daughter, Fatima Naseem, who broke the record for most full contact elbow strikes in one minute using alternate elbows (women) with 242 strikes in August 2020, replacing Indian martial artist Kiran Uniyal. Gave.
Naseem Uddin proudly spoke of the success of his son and granddaughter, saying he is glad that he himself can join their ranks as a record holder.
“This is what we can do for Pakistan,” he said, pointing to his country’s flag on the wall of his workshop. “Now, I did it and it’s clearly become my hallmark and I’m very happy.”
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