January 31, 2006	Tuesday	Muharram 1, 1427

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LAHORE, Jan 30: Top seed Wajid Ali and Ahsan Qamar are to clash in the final of the singles event of the 49th national badminton championship. Wajid defeated giant-killer Hashar Bashir and Ahsan upstaged Atiq Chaudhary in the semifinals at Iqbal Park Sports Complex on Monday.

Wajid brushed aside unseeded Hashar Bashir, who had defeated third seed Waqas Ahmed in the quarterfinals on Sunday night with a final scoreline 7-15, 17-14, 15-4.

Wajid faltered in the beginning and lost the first game as Hashar executed attacking game.

Wajid restored his reputation, winning the second after a nail-biting fight to level the score.

The winner was in terrific form in the third, folding it after dropping only four points to complete the tally.

Atiq, who caused the major upset of ousting defending champion Omar Zeeshan

15-7, 15-9 in the last eight on Sunday night, however, failed to repeat a similar performance against Ahsan in the semifinals and suffered a straight defeat 15-13, 15-6.

It seemed Omar’s defeat, made Ahsan more alert as he never allowed Atiq to pose any threat to him throughout the proceedings, wrapping up the win in 35 minutes.

Atiq has been selected in the Pakistan team which will play Thomas Cup.

Results:

Men’s singles (quarterfinals):

Atiq Chaudhary bt Omar Zeeshan 15-7, 15-9; Hashar Bashir bt Waqas Ahmed 17-14, 14-17, 15-13; Wajid Ali bt Shabbar Hussain 15-5, 15-11; Ahsan Qamar bt Aamir Islam 15-13, 15-6. Semifinals: Wajid Ali bt Hashar Bashir 7-15, 17-14, 15-4; Ahsan Qamar bt Atiq Chaudhary 15-12, 15-8.

Men’s doubles (quarterfinals): Wajid Ali-Ahsan Qamar bt Ijaz-Faisal Afzal 15-9, 15-10; Ali Yar-Rizwan Rana bt Shahid Navid 15-5, 15-12; Atiq-Rizwan bt Nabeel- Zohaib 15-10, 15-3; Omar Zeeshan-Zafar bt Tahir Ishaq-Waqas Ahmed 12-15, 15-4, 15-6. Mixed doubles (semifinals): Waqas Ahmed-Saima Manzoor bt Hashir-Sara Khan 5-15, 15-9, 15-13; Tahir Ishaq-Sara bt Atiq-Farzana Ali 13-15, 15-10, 15-12.

Women’s doubles (semifinals): Aasma Butt-Uzma Butt bt Sara-Aniqa 15-8, 15-7; Saima Manzoor-Farzana Ali bt Ayesha-Sara Khan 15-2, 15-4.