Affaq Ahmed — Full Stack Developer

Sports have always been a big part of who I am.
Before I ever wrote a single line of code, I was chasing a ball, sweating under the sun, and learning lessons that no classroom could teach.

The Beginning — Cricket at Age 4

I started playing and watching cricket when I was about 3–4 years old. It became my first love — and honestly, it still is.
I began with tape ball cricket, which is where most of us in Pakistan learn the basics: no pads, no crowd, just passion.
Even today, whenever I find time, I still play. It’s my favorite way to disconnect from the screen and reconnect with the energy that started it all.

Football — The Team Spirit Game

In 6th grade, I picked up football, and it quickly became my second sport.
I continued playing all the way through university, and it taught me teamwork, patience, and how to keep moving forward even when the scoreboard isn’t in your favor.
Football helped me understand strategy and collaboration — lessons I later found extremely useful in software projects and teamwork at work.

Table Tennis — The Game That Stuck

During my first year in college, I discovered table tennis, and it has stayed with me ever since.
I even bought my own table at home when I landed my first job at Tintash, playing regularly with my brother, Ashan Ahmed.
Now, in my current office at DevCache, I still play it almost every day. It keeps me active, competitive, and clear-headed — a great way to stay in shape both mentally and physically.

Other Sports — Always Up for a Challenge

I’ve also played volleyball from time to time and badminton for several years.
Badminton was a special one — I used to play with my father (Malik Muhammad Sher) and my brother at home from 4th grade until my second year in college.
Those family games weren’t just fun — they were bonding moments, and some of my best memories come from there.

And of course, I’ve always loved indoor games too — from Ludo and Sequence to Chess, which I’ve been playing seriously for the past year.
Chess, especially, has helped me sharpen my patience and problem-solving skills — traits that mirror debugging code or designing backend logic.

What Sports Taught Me

Looking back, every sport I played taught me something valuable:

Cricket taught me patience.
Football taught me teamwork.
Table Tennis taught me focus and precision.
Badminton taught me consistency.
Chess taught me strategy and patience.

All in all, I’ve realized that I’m a sportsman at heart — someone who can get into any sport and start improving within days.
That adaptability translates directly into how I learn new technologies or handle challenges as a developer.

Closing Thoughts

Sports shaped my mindset long before coding ever did.
The discipline, focus, and resilience I learned from years of playing — they’re the same qualities that help me grow in my professional life today.

No matter how busy life gets, I’ll always make time to play. Because for me, being a developer and being an athlete aren’t separate identities — they’re just two sides of the same passion for improvement.

Thanks for reading,
Affaq Ahmed
Full-Stack Software Engineer (MERN) & Lifelong Athlete