Sports Bulletin

Sports Bulletin ReportWah Cantt (Rawalpindi): Top seed Aqeel Khan stunned 4th Hamza 2-0 in straight sets in a men’s singles match of the 4th Chairman POF Board, National Ranking Tennis Tournament at POF Tennis Complex on Thursday.On the fourth day of the tournament, in Men's Single Category top seed Aqeel Khan defeated Hamza Roman with the score-line of 6-0, 6-1. Mohammad Shoaib beat Barkat Ullah at 6-3, 6-2. Yousaf Khalil beat Muzammil Murtaza with 6-2, 6-1. Mohammad Abid beat Abdullah Adnan with 6-1, 6-1. In Boys under 18 category, Mohammad Faizan defeated Ehsan Bari with 4-1, 4-1 while Hamza Roman beat Mohammad Salar with 6-4, 7-5. In the girls Under 18 category, Soha Ali overcame Sheeza Sajid with the score-line of 0-6, 6-2, and 6-4 while Lalarukh Sajid defeated Mahrukh Sajid with 6-4, 7-6 (4).

Sports Bulletin Report Wah Cantt (Rawalpindi): Yousaf Khalil, Abdullah Adnan, Hamza Roman, Muzamil Murtaza, Mohammad Abid, Mohammad Shoaib, Barkat Ullah, and Aqeel Khan have won their respective matches on the third day of the Men’s Singles Event of the 4th Chairman POF Board, National Ranking Tennis Tournament is being played at POF Tennis Complex on Wednesday.Men’s Singles:Yousaf Khalil beat Saqib Hayat 7-6 (2), 6-2Abdullah Adnan beat Zalan Khan 6-1, 7-5Hamza Roman beat Hamid Israr 6-2, 6-1Muzamil Murtaza beat Nalain Abbas 6-1, 6-3Mohammad Abid beat Sami Zeb Khan 7-5, 6-0Mohammad Shoaib beat Shahzad Khan 6-3, 6-3Barkat Ullah beat Jibran Ul Haq 6-0, 6-1Aqeel Khan beat Heera Ashiq 6-4, 6-4Boys’ U18 Singles:Asad Zaman beat Sheryar Anees 6-4, 6-1Hamid Israr beat Mohammad Yahya 6-0, 6-3Mohammad Salar beat Inam Qadir 6-3, 6-4.

Hameed ul Haq The Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) Elections, held on February 10, 2024, for the post of President, Secretary, and Treasurer were tainted by a strong controversy right from the start due to a questioned vote. The elections were held, after an inordinate delay of over a year beyond the expiry of the term of the incumbent federation, who desired to prolong its stay for as long as possible.The Elections featured two panels, one led by Major General Asghar Nawaz (Retd) and another by Aisam ul Haq. The election yielded a split result with the panel of the former winning two important slots of Secretary General and Treasurer while Aisam ul Haq could barely secure the slot of President with a narrow margin of one vote, which is considered disputed. The Chief Election Commissioner, Mr Shakeel Durrani, former Chairman WAPDA presided over the election process and faced a predicament when a candidate raised a serious objection challenging the eligibility of the vote of International Lawn Tennis Club (ILTC) Pakistan, an associate member unit of PTF. The objections were raised in the light of the PTF Constitution and it was pointed out that ILTC having defaulted in payment of dues of PTF for the last five years falls into the status of “expelled member” and hence loses the right to vote. The more serious amongst the other objections pertained to violation of Article 21 of said Constitutions according to which only the President of an associate member of PTF or his authorized representative can cast the vote. The President of ILTC passed away in March 2021, and with no President elected an aged Secretary of ILTC who is been ridden since long authorized, illegally, a representative to cast the vote in Elections which is considered a flagrant violation of the PTF Constitution.The Chief Election Commissioner, after duly acknowledging the objections to be genuine allowed the elections process to continue with the proviso that the objections would later be addressed through established rules and forms, as per the PTF Constitution, in a specially called General Meeting of PTF Council, within ten days.He made it clear that the voting results may alter or elections may be held again if the contested vote is found illegal as per the PTF Constitution. Another surprising aspect was that the observer representative of POA, the parent body of the Country’s sports federations, was kept out of the crucial first phase of the election proceedings when these objections were discussed with the Chief Election Commissioner.The vote of ILTC assumes significance because it openly nominated and expressed its support for the Panel led by the Aisam ul Haq and if the vote gets void, besides of embarrassment caused, the votes for President PTF will become equal and a tie will occur. The PTF’s outgoing Management, with an obvious bias, has also tried to give a twist to the matter by the incorrect recording of the Chief Elections Commissioner’s decisions in Minutes of Elections, issued on 17 February 2024 which has been promptly noticed by all stakeholders.Considering the past performance of the previous PTF set-up where no fresh crop of internationally competitive players was prepared resulting in a 4-0 drubbing of Pakistan’s Davis at the hands of an Indian Davis Cup team at Islamabad, there is a requirement that fairness, professionalism and merit is promoted in the tennis affairs. The holding of elections marred with illegalities and controversies bodes ill for the future of the game. Pakistan Olympics Association and the relevant stakeholders must step in to ensure that the election process of PTF is subjected to fair play, legality, and fairness, in the absence of which the entire edifice of tennis promotion and player development will remain elusive.(Editor Note: The writer is a former tennis player and achieved many titles for the country. If someone wants to give his point of view about this article Sports Bulletin will welcome, and publish that)  

Pakistan’s Ahmed Nael Qureshi overpowers Shijie Chen from China in straight sets 2-0 in finalAbdul Jabbar FaisalISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s rising tennis star, Ahmed Nael Qureshi outclassed high-ranked Shijie Chen from China in straight sets 2-0 in Boys’ Singles final of the ITF Pakistan Zainab Ali Naqvi Memorial World Junior Championship Leg-2 at PTF -SDA Tennis Complex Garden Avenue Islamabad on Saturday. The final score-line was 6-1, and 6-3.In the Boys’ Single final, pencil thin Ahmad Nael Qureshi exhibited classic game of tennis to overcome high ranking challenger Shijie, as he took over control on the match from starting and did not allow his rival to settle the feet on the court and finished first set at 6-1.In the second set, Ahmed Nael kept the same pace and game quality and won the set after conceding just three games and won the prestigious title for Pakistan after a long time. Senator Salim Saifullah Khan Ex-President-PTF, Aisam ul Haq Qureshi-President-PTF, Col (Retd) Ziauddin Tufail, and Mohammad Arif Qureshi Treasurer -PTF congratulated Ahmed Nael on his memorable victory.Senator Salim Saifullah Khan Ex-President-PTF was the chief guest at the closing ceremony. The closing ceremony was also attended by Col. Ziauddin Tufail [R], Col. Sadaf Akram, Saeed Ahmed-SEVP-PTF, Mansoor Ahmmad Khan DDG-PSB and a large number of players, coaches, parents, and tennis lovers.Senator Salim Saifullah Khan paid rich tributes to the young and talented Zainab Ali Naqvi- a young tennis player who had come to Islamabad from Karachi to participate in the ITF Juniors Tournaments and passed away on 12th February 2024 in Islamabad. The Ex-President-PTF said that the tennis fraternity is indeed in great shock and Zainab will be always remembered.Results (Finals):Boys’ Singles: Ahmed Nael Qureshi of Pakistan beat Shijie Chen of China 6-1, 6-3Girl's Singles: Kira Kalinouskaya of Belarus beat Paramee Tadkaew of Thailand 6-4, 6-2

Sports Bulletin ReportISLAMABAD: Pakistan slim & smart tennis player, Ahmed Neal Qureshi cruised into the Boys’ Singles final of the ITF Pakistan Zainab Ali Naqvi Memorial World Junior Championship Leg-2 after thrashing Jacob Kailiang Shen from Hong Kong 2-0 at PTF -SDA Tennis Complex Islamabad on Friday. The final score-line was 6-4, 6-3.Results (Semifinals):Ahmed Nael Qureshi (PAK) beat Jacob Kailiang Shen (HKG) 6-4, 6-3Shijie Chen (CHN) beat Kaigaoge Kang (CHN) 6-2, 6-4Girls’ Singles (Semifinals):Kira Kalinouskaya (BLR) beat Stefaniya Neporent (BLR) 6-4, 6-1Paramee Tadkaew (THA) beat Ekaterina Pestereva (RUS) 6-4 (Retd)Boys’ Doubles (Final):Dong Hyeon Euom(KOR) / Jiwan Park (KOR) beat Kaigaoge Kang(CHN) / Oscar Reilly 6-4, 5-7 (10-8)Saturday’s Schedule:GIRLS SINGLES FINAL: 10:30 amBOYS SINGLES FINAL: 01:30 pm 

Pakistani Ahmed Nael, and Jacob, Shijie, and Kaigaoge qualify for Boys’ Singles semifinalsAbdul Jabbar FaisalISLAMABAD: Ekaterina Pestereva from Russia, Paramee Tadkaew from Thailand, Stefaniya Neporent from Belarus, and Kira Kalinouskaya from Belarus advanced into the semifinals of the Girls’ Singles discipline of the ITF Pakistan Zainab Ali Naqvi Memorial World Junior Championship Leg-2 after beating their respective opponents in quarterfinals here at PTF -SDA Tennis Complex, Garden Avenue on Thursday.Rising tennis lad, Ahmed Nael Qureshi kept the hope alive of Pakistan for the title, as he thrashed his challenger Dong Hyeon Euom from Korea in straight sets 2-0 with the final score-line of 6-4, and 6-2. Also, Jacob Kailiang Shen from Hong Kong, Shijie Chen from China, and Kaigaoge Kang from China jumped into semifinals after winning their respective matches.Results:Boys’ Singles (Quarterfinals):Jacob Kailiang Shen (HKG) beat Jiwan Park (KOR) 6-3, 2-6, 6-3Shijie Chen (CHN) beat Ahtesham Humayun (PAK) 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-1Kaigaoge Kang (CHN) beat Oscar Reilly (NED) 6-4, 6-4Ahmed Nael Qureshi (PAK) beat Dong Hyeon Euom (KOR) 6-4, 6-2Girls’ Singles (Quarterfinals):Ekaterina Pestereva (RUS) beat Gehansa Don (SRI) 6-0, 6-2Paramee Tadkaew (THA) beat Chaewon Whang (KOR) 6-2, 6-2Stefaniya Neporent (BLR) beat Jingke Yan (CHN) 6-3, 6-4Kira Kalinouskaya (BLR) beat Katsiaryna Dubik (BLR) 3-1(Retd)Girls’ Doubles (Semifinals):Gyuree Nam (KOR) / Chaewon Whang (KOR) beat Dicle Izgi (TUR) / Paramee Tadkaew (THA) 6-1, 6-2Stefaniya Neporent(BLR) / Ekaterina Pestereva(RUS) beat Deniz Cakil (TUR) / Jingke Yan (CHN) 6-0, 6-4

Sports Bulletin ReportLAHORE: Muzamil Murtaza claimed two titles of the RLK Group Punjab Open Tennis Championship 2024 that concluded on a high note at the Punjab Tennis Academy, Bagh-e-Jinnah Lahore on Wednesday.Muzamil Murtaza showcased his supremacy on the court by first securing victory in the men's singles final against M Abid with scores of 6-4, 7-6. He didn't stop there; teaming up with Abdullah Adnan, Muzamil also triumphed in the men's doubles final, overcoming the duo of M Abid and Waqas Malik with a 6-3, 7-5 victory. "Winning not just one, but two titles at this championship feels surreal. It's a testament to the hard work and dedication we have put in," Murtaza expressed post-victory. The championship also saw Shimza Durab clinching the ladies' singles title by defeating Bismel Zia with a convincing 6-3, 6-1 in the final, showcasing her prowess on the court. The seniors' categories were equally competitive, with notable victories from Talha Waheed (GO Pakistan) and Arif Feroze in the doubles 45 plus category, and seniors champion Rashid Malik demonstrating his undiminished skill in the seniors 50 plus singles, outwitting Fayyaz Khan by 6-1, 6-1. The seniors 60 plus doubles title was claimed by Brig Ghazanfar/Waqar Nisar, who outshone Maj Saeed/Mubeen Malik 6-2, 6-1. In the boys/girls U-14 final, Abdur Rehman beat Huzaima 6-0. In the boys/girls U-12 final, Muaz Shahbaz beat Ohad e Mustafa 6-2 while the boys/girls U-10 title was lifted by Ayan Shahbaz, who thrashed Ehsan Bari 6-1. The concluding ceremony was graced by Dr. Rashid Latif Khan, Chairman of the RLK Group, as the chief guest, with Hasan Said, Director of RLSB, serving as the guest of honor. Hasan Said played a pivotal role in the tournament's successful organization. "Our commitment to tennis is unwavering. We aim not just to host tournaments but to nurture young talent, helping them bring glory to our nation," Dr. Khan remarked during the prize distribution ceremony. PLTA Secretary Rashid Malik extended his gratitude towards the RLK Group for their all-out support. "Their sponsorship and support have been invaluable. It is our collective hope to make this championship a cornerstone of Pakistan's tennis calendar," Malik stated. The tournament, celebrated for its competitive spirit and high professional standards, not only provided a platform for showcasing talent but also reaffirmed the commitment of the RLK Group and the PLTA towards the development of tennis in Pakistan.

Eight foreign players and 2 locals Ahmed Nael and Ahtesham reach the top-8 stageSports Bulletin ReportISLAMABAD: As many as 8 foreign players and 2 Pakistani Ahmed Nael Qureshi and Ahtesham Humayun moved into the quarterfinals of the Boys’ Singles fixture of the ITF Pakistan Zainab Ali Naqvi Memorial World Junior Championship Leg-2 after beating their respective rivals here at PTF -SDA Tennis Complex Garden Avenue on Wednesday.Results:Boys’ Singles (Pre-Quarterfinals:Jacob Kailiang Shen (HKG) beat Xiuyuan guo (CHN) 4-6, 6-4, 6-1Jiwan Park (KOR) beat Doruk Elbirlik (TUR) 4-6, 6-0, 6-0Kaigaoge Kang (CHN) beat Bilal Asim (PAK) 6-2, 6-4Dong Hyeon Euom (KOR) beat Amir Mazari (PAK) 6-1, 6-0Shijie Chen (CHN) beat Hamid Israr (PAK) 6-2, 6-4Ahmed Nael Qureshi (PAK) beat Makarov (RUS) 3-0 (Retd)Ahtesham Humayun (PAK) beat Ilya Kryukov (RUS) 4-0 (Retd)Oscar Reilly (NED) beat Mohammad Hamza Aasim (PAK) 7-6 (5), 6-4Girls’ Singles (Pre-Quarterfinals):Stefaniya Neporent (BLR) beat Deniz Cakil (TUR) 7-5, 6-3Gehansa Methndi (SRI) beat Sheeza Sajid (PAK) 6-2, 6-1Ekatrenia Pestereva (RUS) beat Hinru Zhong (CHN) 6-2, 7-6 (2)Chaewon Whang (KOR) beat Lidia Ratobylskaya (RUS) 6-1, 6-0Paramee Tadkaew (THA) 6-0, 6-1Katsiaryna Dubik (BLR) beatJosefa Beatrice (PHI) 6-1, 6-0Kira Kalinouskaya (BLR) beat Dicle Izgi (TUR) 6-1, 6-3Boys’ Doubles (Quarterfinals):Dong Hyeon Euom (KOR) / Jiwan Park (KOR) beat Kieran Lin (USA) / Ivan Makarov (RUS) 6-3, 6-3Hamid Israr (PAK) / Papangkorn Bunyarit(THA) beat Howard Chan (HKG)/ Xiuyuan Guo 6-4, 6-1Bilal Asim / Ahmed Nael Qureshi (PAK) beat Ulad Dalbusin (RUS) / Ilya Kryukov(RUS) 6-3, 6-1Girls’ Doubles (Quarterfinals):Ekatrenia Pestereva (RUS) / Stefaniya Neporent (BLR) beat Kira Kalinouskaya (BLR) / Katsiaryna Dubik (BLR) 4-1 (retd)Deniz Cakil (TUR) / Jingke Yan (CHN) beat Deren Cetinkaya (TUR) / Sheeza Sajid (PAK) 6-1, 6-0.

Sports Bulletin ReportISLAMABAD: Senator Salim Saifullah Khan handed over the PTF charge to Aisam ul Haq Qureshi, who was elected President-PTF in the recently held elections on the 10th of February 2024, in a ceremony at SDA-PTF Tennis Complex here on Wednesday.According to an official of PTF, the outgoing President, Senator Salim Saifullah Khan handed over the PTF reigns to Aisam ul Haq Qureshi and presented him a tennis racket on this occasion. Senator Salim Saifullah Khan felicitated Aisam and said he was confident Aisam would work hard to promote and develop tennis throughout Pakistan.On this occasion, Aisam ul Haq Qureshi thanked Senator Salim Saifullah Khan and assured him that he would work tirelessly for the betterment of tennis and especially focus on player development as well as the development of tennis infrastructure in the country.

Abdul Jabbar FaisalISLAMABAD: Pakistan Wheelchair Tennis No.1 player, Asif Abbasi earned second position in the ITF3 Wheelchair Tennis Tournament, as scammed in the final against high-ranked (World No. 104) rival Nemeth Roland from Hungary at Bolton Tennis Arena, United Kingdom on Tuesday. The final score-line was 7-6, and 6-4.According to available information from abroad, Abbasi's journey to the final was nothing short of inspiring, showcasing his resilience and talent on the international stage. Abbasi's campaign began with a dominant performance against a local player, securing a convincing victory with a score of 6-0, 6-1. In the quarterfinals, he faced a formidable opponent, the French player seeded second in the tournament and ranked 69th in the world. Despite the tough challenge, Abbasi displayed exceptional tennis prowess and emerged victorious with a score-line of 6-4, 6-3.In the semifinal, he went head-to-head with an Italian opponent in a nerve-jangling contest. Pakistan man with unwavering focus and determination clinched victory after a fierce battle, winning with a score of 6-3, 4-6, 6-1, securing his place in the final.In the final showdown, Abbasi faced a seasoned and matured player, showcasing his skills against a formidable opponent. Though the match was fiercely contested, Abbasi ultimately fell short, losing with a score of 7-6, 6-4. However, his performance throughout the tournament has earned him praise and admiration for his outstanding achievements on the court.Abbasi's remarkable journey to the final serves as a source of inspiration for aspiring athletes in Pakistan, highlighting the potential and talent within the country's wheelchair tennis community. His resilience, determination, and remarkable talent continue to elevate the profile of wheelchair tennis in Pakistan and inspire a new generation of athletes.Asif Abbasi is now gearing up for his next challenge, the ITF2 wheelchair tennis tournament, which begins on February 21, 2024. With his recent success as motivation, Abbasi is hopeful to perform well in this tournament and further solidify his position as a formidable force in the world of wheelchair tennis. Abbasi aims to raise his world ranking and an ultimately willing to participate in the Paris Paralympic this year.