Sports Bulletin

Pakistan number one tennis player Aqeel Khan reaches in the semifinalSports Bulletin ReportLAHORE: Pakistan number one tennis player, Aqeel Khan moved into the semifinal of the ongoing Sheheryar Malik Memorial Pakistan Open Tennis Championship after beating Mudassar Murtaza in the quarterfinal here at Sports Board Punjab Tennis Academy Nishtar Park on Wednesday.Results:Men's Singles (Quarterfinals):Aqeel Khan beat Mudassar Murtaza 6-2, 6-3Yousaf Khalil beat Heera Ashiq 6-4, 6-3Mohammad Abid beat Abdullah Adnan 6-2, 6-0Men's Doubles (Pre-Quarters):Qasim Ali/Suleman Junaid beat Sami Zeb Khan/ Saqib Hayat 5-7, 6-2, 15-13Mohammad Abid/Ahmad Chaudhary beat Hamza Roman /Asad Ullah 6-1, 6-1Ahmad Babar/Imran Bhatti beat Faizan Fayyaz/Sikandar Hayat 6-3, 6-1Mudassar Murtaza/Abdullah Adnan beat Baqir Ali/Hasheesh Kumar 6-4, 4-6, 10-4Zaid Mujahid/Waqas Malik beat Bilal Asim/Ahmad Nael 6-1, 2-6, 10-3Seniors Doubles 55+ (semifinals):Rashid Malik/Israr Gul beat Inam ul Haq/Waqar Nisar 6-0, 6-0Arif Feroze/Brig Manzoor beat Nauman Aleem/Dr.Shahzaib Pervaiz 6-0, 6-1Seniors Doubles 45+ (Quarterfinals):Talha Waheed/Hassan Said beat Mehboob Waheed/Rana Humayun 6-4, 6-2Israr Gul/Qasim Ali beat Munir Gill/Qadir Nawaz 6-1, 3-6, 10-2Boys’ Under-18 (Quarterfinals):Bilal Asim beat Ahtesham Humayun 6-0, 6-0Hamid Israr beat Yafat Nadeem 6-2, 6-4Hamza Roman beat Asad Zaman 6-3, 6-0Mohammad Salaar beat Mahatir Mohammad 6-4, 4-6, 6-3Ladies’ Singles (Quarterfinals):Soha Ali beat Kainat Ali 6-0, 6-0Sheeza Sajid beat Labika Durab 6-4, 6-1Meheq Khokhar beat Laiba 6-1, 6-2Boys’ Under-16 (Quarterfinals):Asad Zaman beat Abdul Basit 6-2, 6-1Sheheryar Anees beat Muzamil Khan 6-3, 6-3Amir Mazari beat Hamza Ali Rizwan 6-3, 2-6, 6-0Ahtesham Humayun beat Taimoor Ansari 6-1, 6-1Boys’ Under-14 (Quarterfinals):Amir Mazari beat Abdur Rehman 6-2, 6-2Umar Jawad beat Hamza Ali RizwanHaziq Areejo beat Ismail Aftab 6-2, 3-6, 10-7Abdul Basit beat Ansari Ullah 6-3, 6-1

Aqeel Khan overcome Mohammad Shoaib 2-1 in a thriller final of Men’s SinglesSports Bulletin ReportLAHORE: Pakistan number one tennis man Aqeel Khan has won the title of Pakistan Open Tennis Championship after overcoming Mohammad Shoaib 2-1 in the Men’s Singles final here at Sports Board Punjab Tennis Academy Nishtar Park on Friday. Chief guests Dr Asif Tufail Director General Sports board Punjab, and Junaid Naveed General Manager Marketing Sheikhoo Steel distributed the prizes among the winners and runner-ups.Earlier, in the Ladies Doubles final, Meheq Khokhar and Soha Ali outplayed beat Amna Qayum and Sheeza Sajid 2-1, as the final score-line was 3-6, 6-2, 10-5Results (finals):Men's Singles: Aqeel Khan beat Mohammad Shoaib 6-2, 2-6, 6-3Ladies Doubles: Meheq Khokhar/Soha Ali beat Amna Qayum/Sheeza Sajid 3-6, 6-2, 10-5Seniors’ 45+ Doubles: Talhs Waheed/israr Gul beat Ashar Khan/Kamran Khan 2-6, 6-3, 10-5Seniors’ 65+ Doubles: Waqar Nisar /Inam ul Haq beat Mohammad Babar/Brig.Ghazanfar 6-2, 7-5Girls’ U-18: Soha Ali got walkover against Amna AliBoys’ U-18: Hamza Roman beat Bilal Asim 2-0 (Rtd)Boys’ U-16: AbU Bakar Talhs beat Asad Zaman 6-3, 6-2Boys’ U-14: Hamza Ali Rizwan beat Abdul basit 6-4, 3-6, 13-11Boys’ U-14 Doubles: Abu Bakar Talha/ Zohaib Afzal Malik beat Abdur Rehman/Nabeel Qayum 4-1, 4-1Boys /Girls U-12: Shayan Afridi beat Mohammad Junaid 6-0Boys/Girls U-12 Doubles: Hajra Suhail/Abdur Rehman beat Rashid Ali Bachani/Mohammad ibraheem Gill 7-6Boys/Girls U-10: Rashid Ali Bachani beat Muaz Shahbaz 6-1

Noor Malik, Esha Jawad storm into semifinals in the Ladies’ Singles categorySports Bulletin ReportLAHORE: Exhibiting extraordinary performance Noor Malik and Esha Jawad cruised into the semifinals of the ongoing Sheikhoo Steel Pakistan Open Tennis Championship 2023 after winning their respective quarterfinal matches in the Ladies’ Singles category at the state-of-the-art SBP Tennis Courts, Nishtar Park Sports Complex on Wednesday.In Ladies Singles Quarterfinal matches, Noor Malik thrashed Rahat ul Ain by 6-0, 6-0 quite comfortably in the first quarterfinal match, however, Esha Jawad had to face some sort of resistance from Soha Ali in the second quarterfinal match. Esha won her match with the score of 6-2, 6-4. In the men’s singles pre-quarterfinals, Aqeel Khan beat Hasheesh Kumar by 6-1, 6-1 and Abdullah Adnan toppled Bilal Asim 6-1, 6-2.Former Davis Cupper Rashid Malik and Arif Feroze outplayed Kamran Qureshi/Ashiq by 6-0, 6-0 in the seniors’ 55-plus doubles quarterfinals. Israr Gul/Humayun Pervez edged out Dr Arif/ Zia Ullah 6-4, 6-4, Amir Altaf/Abid Malik beat Dr ShahzadSaleem/Ali Qayum 6-0, 6-2 and Waqar Nisar/Inam ul Haq crushed Ch Khalil/Dr Sajid Pervez 6-1, 6-0 in the same category.Results:Ladies’ Singles (Quarterfinals):Noor Malik beat Rahat ul Ain 6-0, 6-0Esha Jawad beat Soha Ali 6-2, 6-4Men’s Singles (pre-quarterfinals):Aqeel Khan beat Hasheesh Kumar 6-1, 6-1Abdullah Adnan beat Bilal Asim 6-1, 6--2Boys’ U-18 (Pre-Quarterfinals):Hamid Israr beat Sheheryar Anees 6-4, 6-2Mohammad Hamza Asim beat Mohammad Talha Khan 6-0, 6-1Hamza Roman beat Kamran Khan 6-1, 6-1Mahatir Mohammad beat Mustansir Ali Khan 6-0, 6-2 Men's Doubles (pre-Quarterfinals):Waqas Malik/Zaid Mujahid beat Hasheesh Kumar/Baqir Ali 6-1, 7-6Mahatir Mohammad/Saqib hayat beat Mohammad Talha Khan/Mohammad Huzaifa Khan 5-7, 6-3, 10-4Nael Qureshi/Sami Zeb Khan beat Sikandar Hayat/Faizan Fayyaz 4-6, 6-1, 10-8Imran Bhatti /Ahmad Babar beat Ahmad Ch/Abdaal Haider 6-3, 4-6, 10-4Seniors Doubles 55+ (pre-quarterfinals):Rashid Malik/Arif Feroze beat Kamran Qureshi/Ashiq 6-0, 6-0Israr Gul/Humayun Pervez beat Dr Arif/Zia Ullah 6-4, 6-4Amir Altaf/Abid Malik beat Dr Shahzad saleem/Ali Qayum 6-0, 6-2Waqar Nisar/Inam ul Haq beat Ch Khalil/Dr Sajid Pervez 6-1, 6-0Seniors Doubles 45 plus+ (Pre Quarterfinals):Talha Waheed/Israr Gul beat Kamran Qureshi/Ch Khalil 6-0, 6-0Mohammad Asghar/Tariq Sadiq beat Ahmad Waqas Basit/Rana Humayun 6-7, 6-1, 10-4Arif Feroze/Fayyaz Khan beat Syed Shams-ud-din/Ahsan Wali 6-1, 6-2Qasim Ali/Mehboob Waheed beat Dr Arif/Sajid Bukhari 6-4, 6-4Ashar Khan/Kamran Khan beat Col Atif/M Shoaib 6-4, 7-5Boys’ U-18 Doubles (pre-Quarterfinals):Mohammad Salaar/Mohammad Hamza Asim beat Jawad Khan/Saif Ullah 6-0, 6-0Ameer Mazari/Waleed Humayun beat Mohammad Sohaan Noor/M Rehan 6-2, 6-0Abu Bakar Talha/Ali Talha beat Mohammad Talha Khan/Inam Qadir 6-0, 6-0Asad Zaman/Shehryar Anees beat Kashan Tariq/Shahsawar Khan 6-4, 6-4.

Lala Rukh, Soha Ali, Amna Ali and Fajar Fayyaz reach semifinals in Girls' U-18 EventSports Bulletin ReportLAHORE (Oct 3, 2023): Lala Rukh, Soha Ali, Amna Ali and Fajar Fayyaz reached the semifinals in Girls U-18 category after thrashing their respective opponents in Quarterfinal matches on the third day of the Sheikhoo Steel Pakistan Open Tennis Championship 2023 being conducted with the collaboration of Sports Board Punjab at state-of-the-art SBP Tennis Courts, Nishtar Park Sports Complex on Tuesday.In the Men's Singles event, Ahmed Nael Qureshi, Mohammad Abid, Heera Ashiq, Yousaf Khalil, Mudassar Murtaza and Mohammad Shoaib booked a place in quarterfinals after winning their respective pre-quarter final matches. Talented female tennis player Noor Malik defeated Laiba Iqbal Khan by 6-0, 6-0 in Ladies’ pre-quarter final match.Results:Men's Singles (pre-Quarters):Ahmad Nael Qureshi beat Shehzad Khan 2-6, 6-4, 6-3Mohammad Abid beat Hamid Israr 6-1, 6-4Heera Ashiq beat Ahmad Ch 6-4, 7-5Yousaf Khalil beat Mohammad Salaar 6-2, 6-1Mudassar Murtaza beat Uzair Khan 6-2, 6-0Mohammad Shoaib beat Mahatir Ahmad 6-1, 6-2Boys’ U-16 (Round-I):Syed Mahad Shehzad beat Abdullah Raza 6-3, 6-3Shahsawar Khan beat Eesa Fahad 6-0, 6-1Mohammad Haziq Asim beat Mohammad Uzair 6-1, 6-1Haziq Areejo beat Abdullah 6-2, 6-3Under-12 (Round-I):Rashid Ali Bachani beat Awais Zia 4-0, 4-1Ahmad Hussain beat Muaz Shahbaz 4-0, 4-0Bismel Zia beat Sahil Najoom 4-0, 4-0Shayan Afridi beat Mohammad Faizan 4-2, 4-2Mustafa Uzair Rana beat Mohammad Saif Ullah 4-1, 4-0Abdul Malik beat Ohad e Mustafa 4-2, 4-2Ibraheem Hussain Gill beat Eesa Khan Malik 4-0, 4-0.  

Results expose the performance and management of the Pakistan Tennis FederationAbdul Jabbar FaisalISLAMABAD: The Pakistan tennis team produced miserable results in the Asian Games 2023, which are going on in Hangzhou, China, as Pakistani tennis lovers were expecting a medal from top national male players Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi and Aqeel Khan. The journey of Pakistan Tennis started three days back in China with Aqeel Khan receiving a love set and ended with Sara Khan & Aqeel Khan receiving two ducks from India. Pakistani tennis players failed to impress in the ongoing Asian Games 2023. Pakistan was wiped out of all 5 events i.e. men's singles, men's doubles, women's singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles within 3 days.On the opening day, Aqeel Khan lost to the Uzbek player Khumoyun Sultanov in a straight set with the score-line of 6-0, and 6-1. The next day Ushna Suhail lost to Chinese Lin Zhu 6-0, 6-0 and Sarah Khan lost to Philippines Alex Eala 6-0, 6-0.In men’s tennis doubles, Pakistan’s duo of Aisam-ul-Haq and Aqeel Khan lost to Chinese Taipei’s Yu-Hsiou and Jason Jung 7-6 (3), 6-4 after a two-set battle that lasted for almost two hours.In women’s doubles, Pakistan’s duo of Ushna Suhail and Sarah Ibrahim lost in straight sets without winning a single game to Indonesia’s Beatrice Gumulya and Jessy Priskila Rompies. The Indonesians emerged victorious 6-0, 6-0 after a 44-minute battle.Meanwhile, in mixed doubles, Pakistani pair of Aqeel and Sarah lost to India’s Yuki Bhambri and Ankita Ravinderkrishan Raina 6-0, 6-0 in straight sets without winning a game. In the other mixed doubles, the Pakistani pair of Aisam and Ushna lost to Thailand's Peangtarn and Pruchya 6-4, 6-1.It is intensely worrisome that the Pakistani squad couldn't progress beyond 2nd rounds and received a total of 9 love sets (6-0) in their respective matches. These results show the performance and management of the Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF), which is being run by 77-year-old president Salim Saifullah Khan and 73-year-old Gul Rehman, a retired army man.Former Davis Cupper Hameed-ul-Haq said:“It is beyond his comprehension, why the PTF management opted to send veterans to compete in the Asian Games 2023 instead of many talented youngsters like Mohammad Shoaib and Amna Qayum. So I suggested countless proposals and plans for the promotion of the game in the country that went unheard that the future of Pakistan tennis was ruined but the non-technical individuals were running the tennis federation like a corporate business venture. They are always more bothered with now and today instead of what is yet to come in the future. No talent could rise up in the last decade due to their failed policies and mismanagement. All I can say for now, a miracle needs to rejuvenate Pakistan tennis.”Hameed-ul-Haq is leaving tonight for Thailand to participate in the ITF Seniors Championship. 

Sports Bulletin ReportISLAMABAD: Pakistan number one tennis player, Aqeel Khan has won the Men’s Singles title of the Captain Mohammad Fahad Khan Shaheed Tennis tournament after beating Barkatullah in straight sets 2-0 in the final here at the Institute of Space Technology University (ISTU) on Friday.Aqeel Khan from WAPDA outclassed Pakistan number 6 Barkatullah from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) Police by conceding just three games in both sets. The final score-line was 6-3, and 6-3.Earlier, in 60+ single final, Inam-ul-Haq defeated Faisal Ahmad 2-0 with the score-line of 6-1, and 6-2. Meanwhile, in 45+ double Inam ul Haq and col. Ziauddin Tufail beat Kashif Ali and Haider Khan with the score-line of 6-3, 6-2. Major General (Retd) Rehan Abdul Baqi vice chancellor ISTU graced the closing ceremony as chief guest and gave away prizes to the winners. 

In all nine years of the current management of the Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF), it was my observation that PTF officials would squander all the efforts and hard work done by the tennis loving PTF President Salim Saifullah Khan. Being here in Kuwait, it is regretful to bear witness PTF President's efforts go to waste due to the sad state of internal PTF affairs.The current PTF management in their nine years’ tenure not only wasted the existing talent, they also destroyed the future of Pakistan tennis by not producing a single capable tennis player to represent them internationally, thanks to the casual attitude, ego, and incompetent policies of a senior official of PTF.At the onset of Salim Saifullah's tenure, Aqeel Khan and Sarah Mehboob were Pakistan’s number one players, and still both these players hold the number one ranks as no new young talent could rise up.The likes of Davis Cup players Saamir Iftikhar, Abid Ali Akbar, Muzammil Murtaza and Fed cup player Mahin Aftab, each and every one of them had their talents laid to waste due to the policies of the said senior official. Same is happening with the current junior national champion and men’s top 10 ranked youngster Sami Zaib where should have been invited in trials for Davis Cup but some unknown USA based player Mujtaba Ali Khan blue eyed of top officials is invited for the Davis Cup trails purely on reference base.Similarly, an adviser to PTF kept promoting his daughter to attain all the benefits by hook or by crook while the said senior official kept promoting a certain tennis coach because of his lengthy friendship with that coach's father. Similarly the adviser used PTF to recommend her daughter to secure Tamgha-i-Imtiaz completing blowing up all merits while ignoring Islamic Games Gold Medalist, Asian Games Silver Medalist and SAF Games Gold medalist tennis players. This has brought shame not only to the entire tennis fraternity but also to the entire deserving sports & players in Pakistan.Now let us examine the performance of the PTF management. Last year, only six men’s national tournaments were held and this year none has taken place so far. Where will the national players go and how will they prepare professionally in the absence of a competitive platform?This year 2023, Pakistan Davis cup team suffered an ugly defeat from Lithuania in February in Lithuania just after defeating the same Lithuanian team in Pakistan in March 2022.The juniors Davis Cup under-16 team got the last position out of 16 in the Junior Davis Cup Asia-Oceania qualifying event held in Kazakhstan in May 2023. This defeat stands as one of the worst in the history of Pakistan tennis.In the Billie Jean King Cup Asia Oceania Group 2 event held in July 2023 in Malaysia, the ladies team got 10th position out of 12 teams and just marginally avoided relegation to Asia Oceania Group 3.In the under-14 ITF World Junior Tennis Finals event held in August 2023 in Czech Republic, the juniors team attained the last position out of 16 teams with a record bagel sets (6-0) for the defeating Pakistani players. No Pakistani could secure a single set from any opponent.This year only one positive news came out that the Junior U14 team qualified for the world group but the junior team selected for the ITF Junior Tennis Finals event couldn't even secure the Czech Republic visa as nothing was done from PTF management on time. Alternatively, they selected "B" grade team of dual nationals who got bageled in the worst way possible. The dual national coach sent with the team never even managed a street team as a captain/coach but the PTF selected him for a huge task.These few examples are enough to show the sheer incompetency of the PTF management. The onus is on the authorities who have been allowing extension to the current management without elections since November 2022.It is my final observation and question that under the captaincy of legendary Hamid Ul Haq, the Pakistan Davis Cup team beat Indonesia in Jakarta in 2015 without Aisam Ul Haq Qureshi where Abid Ali Akbar and Samir Iftikhar outshined the Indonesian team and now can Pakistan team beat them in Davis Cup again at our home ground – Islamabad -- next month without Aisam Ul Haq Qureshi? I don’t think so.(The writer is an International Certified PTR Tennis Coach from USA, ITF Certified Level II Tennis Coach, and also an Internationally Qualified high-performance pro tennis coach from Pakistan).Editor Note: If someone wants to respond to this article Sports Bulletin will welcome it (info@sports-bulletin.com) 

Abdul Jabbar FaisalISLAMABAD: The top officials of the Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) congratulated top national female tennis player Ushna Suhail, who was conferred with the award of TAMGHA-E-IMTIAZ by the President of Pakistan Dr Arif Alvi on Independence Day 14th August 2023 on her meritorious services in the field of tennis at national and international level.It is pertinent to mention here that Ushna Suhail was honoured by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), as she was presented with the prestigious Billie Jean King Cup Commitment and awarded there at a special ceremony in Kuala Lumpur during the recently held Billie Jean King Cup Asia Group 2, in July 2023. She is the solitary female Pakistani tennis player to receive a prestigious award.Ushna Suhail has represented Pakistan in the Billie Jean King Cup (formerly known as Fed Cup), Islamic Games, Asian Games, Asian Martial Arts and Indoor Games, and South Asian Games and has also been Pakistan's No-1 for several years. She is Pakistan's first and only female player who achieved WTA Ranking.President PTF, Senator Salim Saifullah Khan and other officials congratulated Ushna Suhail and her family on the award of the TAMGHA-E-IMTIAZ which is a great honour for PTF and tennis lovers. The President also stated that Ushna's award should prove to be a catalyst for other female players to achieve such laurels due to hard work and dedication.

Level III Qualified tennis coach Asim Shafiq guides well: Says Mohammad ShoaibAbdul Jabbar FaisalISLAMABAD:-Pakistan Number two tennis player, Mohammad Shoaib, 21 years old, said that he was toiling hard on the court to occupy the number one spot in the national tennis ranking, and he would soon be Pakistan’s number one tennis player.Mohammad Shoaib, during an exclusive interview with www.sports-bulletin.com here added that he defeated Pakistan No.1 Aqeel Khan thrice in different national fixtures in the recent past. “I have the ability to become Pakistan’s number one. Aqeel Khan is a great player and now 42, he uses his experience to overcome the young tennis lads. I am working hard under the coaching of Asim Shafiq, who is a level-III coach. Kamran Khalil is also a level-III coach in Pakistan. Barkatullah is my partner in doubles and we are at the number one position in the national ranking.”Pakistan No. 2 tennis lad further said, “Nowadays, I practice in two sessions under the supervision of Asim Shafiq. In the morning I play with my teammate Barakatullah on the court for three hours in the dog days of June, as the temperature goes over 40 centigrade. We start our morning session at 9:30 am and in the morning around 4:00 pm which includes gym practice too for physical fitness. The tennis complex has a small fitness gym but it fulfills our needs, “he maintained. While responding to a question, a Peshawar-based tennis guy said that he represented Pakistan in Davis Cup competitions including seniors and juniors fixtures. “At the national level, I play with Barkatullah, Adnan Abdullah, and Khalil Yousaf and I enjoy playing with these guys. I am fully concentrating on my game and willing to move ahead at the international level by playing good tennis. Asim Bhai is coaching me very well.”“Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) is supporting me very well and providing all facilities including diet and others. I live in the tennis complex and PTF provides standard food and other gear balls etc. Here the courts hard and clay both are according to the demands of international competitions. When I started to play tennis around 10 years back I was playing in Shilwar and Qameez (local dress) and my uncle (Mamu) asked me to play tennis, “he concluded. 

Sarah Mahboob receives 3 gold medals Aqeel Khan decorates 2 golds on his chestSports Bulletin ReportISLAMABAD:-Pakistan WAPDA have won the tennis title of the ongoing 34th National Games 2023, as the top national men and women won the 4 gold medals for WAPDA at SDA-PTF Tennis Complex, Garden Avenue Islamabad on Monday.In the Men's Singles final, Aqeel Khan (Wapda) beat Huzaifa Abdul Rehman (ARMY) 7-5, 6-1, and won the gold medal for WAPDA while in the ladies' final Sarah Mahboob (WAPDA) got rid of Ushna Suhail (WAPDA) 6-4, 3-6 (10-8) to win the title.Ehsan-ur-Rehman Mazari, Federal Minister for Inter Provincials Coordination (IPC) graced the occasion as chief guest at the closing ceremony. He appreciated PTF Management and Balochistan Tennis Association (BTA) for organizing the event professionally and befittingly.The closing ceremony was also attended by Justice Ejaz Yousaf President Baluchistan Tennis Association, Iftikhar Rashid SEVP-PTF, Shoaib Khoso DG-PSB, Col. Gul Rehman[R] Secretary-General-PTF and a large number of tennis lovers.The Minister congratulated all the medal winners and appreciated the efforts of all players and coaches from the participating teams.Women Individual Singles EventSara Mahboob (Wapda) GOLDUshna Sohil (wapda) SILVERAmna Ali Qayyum (Army) BRONZELabika Durab (Punjab) BRONZEWomen Individual Doubles EventSara Mahboob/ Ushna Sohail (Wapda) GOLDMehaq Khokhar / Esha Jawad (Wapda) SILVERShimza Naz Durab/ Rahat ul Ain ( HEC)  BRONZESheeza Sajid / Zainab Ali Naqvi   (PAF) BRONZE