18 January 2004	Sunday	25 Ziqa'ad 1424

LAHORE, Jan 17: Defending champions Wajid Ali and second seed Ahsan Qamar booked berths in the final of the 47th National badminton championship men's singles at Iqbal Park Sports Complex on Saturday.

Reigning champion Asma Butt and Farzana Saleem also qualified for the ladies' singles final.

Wajid was declared winner when third seed, Waqas Ahmad conceded the match in the second set. Wajid who will play the final for the fifth consecutive time took the first set 15-8. He was leading 5-1 in thesecond when Waqas retired due to muscular pain in his right leg.

Wajid previosly won the title in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002.

Second seed Ahsan, defeated fourth seed Omar Zeeshan 15-9, 15-13 to enter the final for the first time.

In the ladies' singles semifinals, reigning champion Asma Butt defeated her sister Uzma 13-10, 9-11, 11-9 in a 40 minute closely contested game.

Unseeded Farzana stunned second seed Ayesha Akram 11-7, 11-4 to qualify for the final.

Shabbar Hussain-Zareena will play Tahir Ishaq-Palosha in the mixed doubles. All three finals will be held on Sunday.

Results:

Men's Singles (semifinals): Wajid Ali declared winner after Waqas Ahmad conceded the match. Ahsan Qamar bt Omar Zeeshan 15-9, 15-13.

Ladies' Singles (semifinals): Asma Butt bt Uzma Butt 13-10, 9-11, 11-9; Farzana Saleem bt Ayesha Akram 11-7, 11-4.

Ladies's Doubles (semifinals): Asma Butt-Uzma Butt bt Zareena- Saara 15-11, 15-10; Ayesha Akram-Saima bt Zahida-Farzana 15-4, 15-9.

Mixed Doubles (semifinals): Shabbar Hussain-Zareena bt Akhtar- Saadia 15-1, 15-9; Tahir Ishaq-Palosha bt Imran-Aneeqa 15-2, 15-6.

Veteran's Singles (semifinals): Fayyaz Ahmad bt Naveed Javed 15-9, 11-15, 15-10; Nadeem Javed bt Salahuddin 15-3, 15-2.