|
|
|
| June 26, 2005 | Sunday | Jumadi-ul-Awwal 18, 1426 |
Sarah stuns Sehar for crown
KARACHI, June 25: Fourteen-year-old Sarah Mehboob was the toast of the tennis fans, when she toppled the reigning National hard court champion Sehar Khawja in two straight sets to bag the ladies singles title in the KC Tennis championship played on Saturday at the Karachi Club.
The previous night Sehar knocked out the top seed Sana Bhagat in three gruelling sets which seemed to have drained her energy out as the first set against Sarah proved to be.
The young lady from Islamabad who has come a long way in the last couple of months, winning the National Clay Court championship in Islamabad earlier this year downing Natasha Afridi 6-1, 6-2 and following it up with a splendid victory in the KC Summer national hard court championship making short work of the top seed Sana Bhagat 6-4, 6-1.
In the final, Sarah broke her opponents serve twice to run up a 4-0 lead and was soon pocketing the first set 6-1 in only 10 minutes.
Stung into action Sehar fought back leading 2-1, but Sarah playing some lovely strokes from the baseline, soon equalised the scores 2-2 and was soon 3-2 in front.
Sehar in a last ditch effort fought on gamely, but it was Sarah who grabbed the second set and match 6-4 and was warmly applauded by the sporting crowd not to mention her game opponent.
Top seed Aqeel Khan who brushed aside younger brother Jalil 6-2, 6-2, will take on third seed Nomi Qamar in Sunday’s men’s singles title showdown.
Nomi playing second seed Asim Shafiq won the first set 7-6, and his opponent suffering with an acute stomach disorder was forced to surrender the match.
Rashid Malik and Imran Khan upset Nomi Qamar and Mohammad Shafiq 6-4, 7-5 and playing the second seeds Aqeel and Jalil surrendered due to the heat 6-3 in the first set in the semifinals of the men’s doubles. In the other semifinal Asim Shafiq and Shehzad Khan breezed past Mahmood Khan and Inam Gul 6-2, 6-4.
But due to Asim’s being indisposed, Aqeel and Jalil were awarded a walkover in the final. Fourth seed Yasir Khan shocked the top seed Tanveer Ashiq 6-3, 7-5 in the boys under-17 singles semifinal. Another upset was in store in the next semifinal, when third seed Umer Babar beat second seed Khurram 6-3, 6-2.
Nasir Mushtaq bulldozed his way into the boys singles final with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Heera Ashiq where he will meet Ghulam Abbas Panju, who overcame Hidatullah 7-5, 6-2.
Nasir and Ghulam also reached final in the doubles event after being stretched by Jahangir Rashid and Hassan Ahmed 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.
Results:
Men’s singles (semifinal) Aqeel Khan bt Jalil Khan 6-2, 6-0. Nomi Qamar bt Asim Shafiq 7-6 (7-5) retired.
Boys under-17 singles (semifinal): Yasir Khan bt Tanveer Ashiq 6-3, 7-5. Umer Baber bt Khurram 6-3, 6-2.
Under-15 singles (quarterfinal): Hidatullah bt Yousuf Ajam 6-3, 6-2.
Under-15 (semifinals): Nasir Mushtaq bt Heera Ashiq 6-4, 6-1. Ghulam Abbas bt Hidatullah 7-5, 6-2.
Under-13 (quarterfinal): Adil Kohari bt Vicky Kumar 6-4, 6-2.
Under-13 (semifinal): Zohar Raza bt Yousuf Ajum 6-1, 6-2. Umer Shahid beat Adil Kohari 6-2, 6-2.
Ladies singles (semifinals): Sehar Khwaja bt Sana Bagat 5-7, 6-2, 6-4.
Final: Sarah bt Sehar Khwaja 6-1, 6-4.
Men’s doubles (quarterfinal): Rashid Malik/Imran Ahmed bt Nomi Qamar/ Mohammad Shafiq 6-4, 7-5.
Semifinals: Aqeel Khan/Jalil Khan bt Rashid Malik/Imran Ahmed 6-3 (retired). Asim Shafiq/Shehzad Khan bt Mahmood Khan/Inam Gul 6-2, 6-4.
Final: Aqeel Khan/Jalil Khan w/o Asim Shafiq/Shehzad Khan.
Boys under-17 doubles (semifinal): Tanveer Ashiq/Yasir Khan bt Usman Aijaz/Nasir Mushtaq 4-6, 6-4, 6-4. Khurram Nazir/Umer Babar bt Abbas Raza/Ali Asghar Bandeali 6-3, 6-2.
Under-15 doubles (quarterfinal): Zohair Raza/Mustafa Jamali bt Heera Ashiq/Faizan Khurram 6-2, 6-3. Nasir Mushtaq/Ghulam Abbas bt Jahangir Rashid/Hassan Ahmed 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.
|
|
|
|
