LAHORE: Pakistan’s talented young swimmer and four-time national gold medalist Faizan Akbar mysteriously went missing in Hungary just hours after arriving last week to compete in the 19th FINA World Championships, which are currently underway. According to reports, the 22-year-old Gujar Khan-born swimmer decided to rest at a hotel after arriving in Budapest and then vanished. According to reports, Faizan’s roommate, who had come down for breakfast, had called Faizan and asked him to join. Faizan said he’d be there, but didn’t show up. He had checked out of the hotel. Faizan disappeared from the scene after taking his necessary belongings and left his Pakistan shirt at the hotel room. Faizan was set to feature in 100m backstrokes on June 19, but missed the event. Faizan belongs to a highly respectable department which he joined in 2017. His brother Zeeshan Akbar is also a swimmer of the same department whose name is not being disclosed. Zeeshan was also part of Pakistan’s 4×200 meter freestyle relay team which took bronze in the 2019 South Asian Games in Nepal. When Faizan’s department was informed about the incident by the Pakistan Swimming Federation (PSF) through a letter, it took every step to inform Pakistan’s Embassy in Hungary, the local police and other relevant wings in order to find the swimmer. However, so far no success has been achieved. Having a Schengen visa, Faizan might have entered some other European country. In the wake of the incident, Faizan’s name was dropped by his parent department from Pakistan’s swimming squad which is set to feature in the Commonwealth Games slated to be held in Birmingham from July 28 to August 8. It was also learned that this happened with the relevant department after 15 to 16 years that one of its athletes took such an illegal step. The PSF has sent a four-member squad to Budapest for the World Championship. The other swimmers, Amaan Siddiqui, Jehanara Nabi, and Bismah Khan, are busy flexing their muscles in their respective events. The global event will conclude on July 3. Faizan’s father was called by the relevant department. The father reportedly looked quite relaxed. As per the rules, Faizan toured Budapest after signing an undertaking and his family will have to pay a penalty of Rs2 million.