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| July 19, 2005 | Tuesday | Jumadi-us-Sani 11, 1426 |
Champions Wapda qualify for final
LAHORE, July 18: Defending champions Wapda and New Khan marched into the finals of the 8th Ameer Abdullah Khan Rokri badminton tournament men’s team event at the New Khan Hall on Monday. Wapda booked their berth after eliminating Punjab 3-2. Mohammad Waqas gave Wapda a flying start beating Khalid Aziz 15-8, 15-4 in the first singles.
Punjab struck back when its pair Shahzad and Khalid worked hard to earn a notable victory against professionals Imran and Rizwan 15-10, 15-12 to restore parity 1-1.
Dominating further, Punjab created further problems for the reigning champion when Shahzad outplayed Imran 15-12, 15-10 in the second singles to take 2-1 lead. It was one of the toughest matches and upcoming Shahzad showed his mettle.
However, Wapda staged a comeback when international Aamir Islam with Zafar managed to equalise winning the second doubles against Kashif and Naeem 15-7, 15-8. In the all important reverse singles Zafar Tasnim of Wapda led from the word go against Kashif 15-7, 15-5 to avert any upset. New Khan ousted a strong National Bank of Pakistan in the second prefinals 3-1.
Hashir Bashir smashed upcoming Qasim Khan 15-11, 15-9 to give the bankers 1-0 lead.
But New Khan stole the limelight winning the remaining three ties to move into the final with great confidence. Nauman Sikandar and Nabeel made it 1-1 winning the doubles against Ijaz and Intikhab 15-11, 15-3.
Shabbar Hussain recovered to put New Khan 2-1 ahead beating Atif Nadeem 11-15, 15-6, 15-11.
In the gruelling first game, Shabbar matched Atif till nine-all but later made unforced errors, allowing his rival to win. But Shabbar showed his true class in the remaining two games to seal the fate of the match.
In the second doubles, Shabbar with Nadeem Zafar excelled beating Hashir and Atif 15-5, 15-10 completing the win in style.
Earlier, late on Sunday night, NBP beat Islamabad 3-0 in the quarterifnals.
In another quarterfinals, New Khan ousted PTCL 3-1.
Results:
Men’s team event (semifinals):
Wapda beat Punjab 3-2.
Mohammad Waqas (Wapda) bt Khalid Aziz (Punjab) 15-8, 15-4; Shahzad-Khalid (Punjab) bt Imran-Rizwan (Wapda) 15-10, 15-12; Shahzad (Punjab) bt Imran (Wapda) 15-13, 15-10; Aamir Islam-Zafar (Wapda) bt Kashif-Naeem 15-7, 15-8; Zafar Tasnim(Wapda) bt Kashif (Punjab) 15-7, 15-5. New Khan beat NBP 3-1. Hashir Bashir (NBP) bt Qasim Khan (New Khan) 15-4, 15-9; Nauman Sikandar-Nabeel (New Khan) bt Ijaz-Intikhab (NBP) 15-11, 15-3; Shabbar Hussain (New Khan) bt Atif Nadeem (NBP) 11-15, 15-6, 15- 11; Shabbar-Nadeem Zafar (New Khan) bt Hashar -Atif (NBP) 15-5, 15-10.
Quarterfinals:
NBP beat Islamabad 3-0.
Atif Nadeem bt Jehanzeb 15-10, 15-3; Hashar-Intikhab bt Ashfaq- Kashif 15-4, 15-9; Ijaz Ahmed bt Ashfaq 15-7, 15-12. New Khan bt PTCL 3-1. Shabbar Hussain (New Khan) bt Ashraf Masih (PTCL) 9-15, 15-8, 15- 4; Nauman Sikandar-Nabeel(New Khan) bt Arshad-Ashraf (PTCL) 17-14, 15-10; Rizwan Azam (PTCL) bt Mohammad Ali (New Khan) 15-12, 15-12; Shabbar Hussain-Nadeem Zafar (New Khan) bt Rizwan -Akram (PTCL) 17-16, 8-15, 15-13.
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