Kurdish sportsman breaks world record for longest punching-bag marathon

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A 22-year-old Kurdish Kung Fu fighter has broken the Guinness World Record for the longest time continuously hitting a punching bag.

In the Kurdistan Region’s province of Duhok on Thursday, Mustafa Rashid finished his punching-bag marathon at 55 hours, 14 minutes, and 4 seconds. This exceeded the past record, held by another Kurd from Sanandaj, Iran, by just over 13 minutes.

Dohuk Governor Farhad Atroushi joined crowds of well-wishers on hand to congratulate him on his achievement.

During the first day of the feat, Rashid told Kurdistan 24, “I am feeling great up to this point. I am not too tired, and my task is coming along smoothly so far.”

Farshid Baqari, a member of Iraq’s International Federation of Sport who was supervising the young Kurd, told Kurdistan 24 at the time that Rashid cannot move away from the bag and must continue to punch it to break the record successfully.

Rashid’s teammates were on hand to feed him fruit, so he remained hydrated, but as Baqari said, “He cannot eat or drink himself. He cannot sleep or talk and has to focus on his task.”

“There are cameras here recording, and we will send the footage and official documents to Guinness,” Baqari explained to Kurdistan 24 on Thursday. “Once [Guinness] receives the footage, the second phase will be to perform the record again in front of their representatives, so it becomes official.”

Rashid has previously participated in several Kung Fu events over the past six years, winning several local and continental awards.