A MAN whose professional football career was smashed by a broken leg has triumphantly switched sports.

Aqeeb ul Hassan Khalifa Jamati fought against adversity to win the Mr Pakistan award for heavyweight powerlifting.

Aqeeb, who fell into trouble with the law in the aftermath of his sports injury, picked up the title this month while staying with relatives in Mirpur.

Aqeeb’s proud mother, Shazia Iqbal, has now highlighted her son’s success in his new sport and said he hoped to forge a second career in weightlifting.

She said: “He was representing Mirpur Azad Kashmir in a bench press contest, and he took the spotlight as beating his opponent by doing 240kg bench press.

“It has gone viral on Facebook. Everyone is proud of him as he has given Keighley a good name in Pakistan.”

Aqeeb, 23, who attended Aireville School in Skipton, said the win was for his ‘Uncle Shak’ - Keighley man Mohammed Shakeel Khalifa - who died in 2014.

He said: “He motivated me and is my role model. If he was here with me today I know he would have been a proud uncle.”

Aqeeb began playing football for Silsden AFC after a talent scout spotted him playing at Marley as a 13-year-old.

He went on to join the Blackburn Rovers and Bradford City youth teams, then his family moved to Lincolnshire for three years so he could play with Boston United.

Mrs Iqbal said: “He broke his leg in a tackle. He was so heartbroken. He came back to Keighley and didn’t want anything to do with football.”

Aqeeb, who had gained A-levels at school, also gave up his plans to go to university.

Mrs Iqbal said: “Shak took him to the gym to do weightlifting. They trained for hours together.

“About a year later his uncle died and Aqeeb went back to zero again. He got depressed and hanging around with the wrong people. He lost his track.”

In 2014 Aqeeb was given a nine-month suspended sentence after being involved in an assault with two other young men in Keighley.

Aqeeb’s family recently sent him to Mirpur for rehabilitation, and he again took up weightlifting.

Mrs Iqbal said that when Aqeeb won the Mr Pakistan contest he was cheered on by several friends from Keighley.

She added: "My husband was crying on the phone because of all the memories of his brother Shakeel."