ISLAMABAD: Soon after the Tarawih prayers end each night in Ramadan, a playground in Islamabad’s D-17 sector comes alive under bright floodlights.
The quiet residential corner fills with the thwack of volleyballs flying across the net as players leap for smashes and spectators line the edges of the ground, cheering and clapping late into the night. Matches often stretch until 3am, just hours before Sehri, the pre-dawn meal before the day’s fast begins.
Volleyball, one of the cheapest team sports, has long been popular in Pakistani towns and villages. Pakistan’s national team currently ranks 44th out of 101 teams in the FIVB Senior World Rankings and seventh in Asia.
During Ramadan, however, the game becomes more than just competition. With daily routines slowed by fasting, nighttime offers a rare window for activity, socializing and community gatherings.
“It has been four years since I started playing here,” said Ismail Khan, who hails from North Waziristan in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and has represented Pakistan at the Under-19 level.
