KARACHI, May 20: The dream run of unseeded Imran Ahmed and Kalim Ghanchi came to an end, bowing out to second seeds Hameedul Haq and Mohammad Khalid in the final of the Executive doubles of the Veterans tennis championship played on Friday at the hard courts of the Karachi Gymkhana.

Earlier, in the quarterfinal, Imran and Kalim ended the pretensions of third seeds Brig Tariq Sadozai and former Davis Cup captain Inamul Haq in two fiercely fought out sets.

Moving into the semifinal stage the pair blew out the lights of the top seeds Davis Cup non playing captain Rashid Malik and Raja Asif 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, in a match that went late into Thursday night.

Brimming with confidence Imran and Kalim although trying desperately hard to match their opponents aggressive play, lacked the magic of their earlier dream runs. Perhaps the gruelling encounter against Rashid and Raja in the semis, took its toll.

Although they fought on tooth and nail, Imran and Kalim were forced to surrender the first set 6-3, with Hameed and Khalid in full flow. The winners continued to pile on the pressure and Imran and Kalim sinking fast, were finally forced to surrender the second set and match 6-4, but did have the satisfaction of being cheered on to the echo by the sporting crowd.

Top seed Rashid Malik had to bring out is best in overcoming third seed Inam ul Haq 6-4, 6-2 to make his triumphant entry into the Executive singles final.

The two top notchers of yesteryears thrilled the crowd with their long and aggressive rallies, which brought back fond memories of the past.

Rashid will now take on Inam’s younger brother Hameed, another former Davis Cup captain in the final on Saturday evening at 5.00 p.m., which promises plenty of spills and thrills for the tennis fans.

Hameed made his way into the final after receiving a walkover from Mohammad Khalid. Khalid could not play his doubles parter in the next semifinal as his right hand was terribly swollen and in great pain, could hardly move his arm about.

Results: