Top seed Murad Ali overcomes Irfan Saeed 2-1, Mahoor Shahzad outplays Ghazala 2-0

Abdullah Asjad

HYDERABAD (January 2, 2023): Top seed Murad Ali (KP) and Mahoor Shahzad (Wapda) have clinched the men’s singles and women’s singles titles of the All Pakistan National Ranking Badminton Championships after beating Irafan Saeed and Ghazala Siddiqui respectively here at Niaz Stadium Hyderabad Club on Monday.

In the Men’s Singles final, defending champion Murad Ali toiled hard on the court to overcome his opponent Irfan Saeed after a three games nail and bite final. Murad won the first game to a tie-break, as Iran put a great resistance throughout the game. Irfan was aggressive in the second game and claimed the game at 21-13 and squared the crucial contest 1-1. However, in the last and conclusive game, Murad changed his tactic and played some long rallies to defeat Iran 21-17 and become champion too. The final score-line was 22-20, 13-21 and 21-17.

Earlier, in the Women’s final, Mahoor Shahzad outclassed Ghazala Siddiqui in straight games 2-0. Both girls from WAPDA displayed top-quality badminton in the first game and amused a sizeable number of spectators. Mahoor finished the game at 23-21 after toiling hard on the court. Her game was a blend of powerful strokes and classic drop shorts. However, in the second game, she did not allow Ghazala on the court at any stage and finished the second game 21-12. The final score-line was 23-21 and 21-12.

The chief guest of the closing ceremony, Aqeel Qadir Junejo Senior Vice President (SVP) Sindh Badminton Association (SBA) distributed the trophies and cash prizes amongst the finalists. Jam Zahoor Lakhan Administrator Hyderaba Club, Tayyab Sohail Senior Vice President of PBF, and Raja Azhar Mahmood Secretary General PBF were also present at this occasion.

Results (Finals):

Men’s Singles: Murad Ali (KP) beat Irfan Saeed (Wapda) 22-20, 13-21, 21-17

Women’s Singles: Mahoor Shahzad (Wapda) beat Ghazala Siddique (Wapda) 23-21, 21-12

Men’s Doubles: Raja Mohammad Hasnain (Army) & Raja Zulqarnain Haider (Wapda) beat Muqeet Tahir (Wapda) & Anjum Bashir (Army) 21-18, 21-15

Women’s Doubles: Mahoor Shahzad & Ghazla Siddique (Wapda) beat Alja Tariq & Sumiya Tariq (Army) 21-13, 21-10