KARACHI, Nov 11: Top seeded defending champion Aqeel Khan retained the men’s singles title of the fifth UBL Salma Noorani tennis tournament without hitting a ball when second seed Asim Shafik conceded the final due to injuries he had sustained in a road accident Saturday evening.

The two players were on court when tournament director Altaf Hussain announced Asim’s withdrawal.

The unfortunate Saturday evening accident dashed hopes of the large gathering who had assembled to witness what was expected to be an entertaining final.

To compensate for the match, a one-set exhibition game was played between left-handed Hasan Mahmood and Nomi Qamar which was won by the former 6-4.

Asim, later told reporters, that he injured his right leg when a motorcyclist rammed into his car at the Hasan Square inter-section. Asim, who was sitting on the front seat, was returning to his hotel after visiting in his relatives.

He said his other relatives sitting in the car were also injured.

Asim, who had a swollen leg, also suffered bruises on his left eyebrow. The second ranked player said he could walk slowly with pain but couldn’t stretch which forced him to conceded the final.

Asim had entered into the competition in good form after having won the National Grasscourt Championship and the Federal Cup.

Aqeel received a winner’s cheque of Rs50,000 while Asim got Rs20,000 from a total purse of Rs203,500.

Chief guest Lt Gen (retd) Moinuddin Haider, Federal Minister of Interior, speaking at the prize distribution ceremony, lauded the contributions of former national hardcourt women’s singles champion Salma Noorani who instituted this tournament five years when he was Governor Sindh. He recalled that he had inaugurated the championship which was now an annual event and one of the most attractive tournaments on the circuit.

The minister said the tournament had attracted all the top players of the country which indicated the popularity of the tournament.

He also referred to a letter late Salma Noorani wrote to President of Pakistan two years ago about creating sports infrastructure for Karachi, adding that he would take up the matter with the concerned authorities.

The patron of the organising committee, Mr Munawar Zain Noorani, said the tournament was a sentimental and emotional event for his family as his mother was all for tennis promotion even after her retirement from the competitive level.

He thanked the sponsors (UBL) and others for extending their whole-hearted cooperation in making the event a big success.

Organising committee president Arif Habib also spoke on the occasion recalling the contributions of Salma Noorani.