August 03, 2007	Friday	Rajab 18, 1428

LAHORE, Aug 2: The men and women's singles event of the 10th Amir Abdullah Khan Rokhri entered the quarter-finals with almost all seeded players making it to the last eight on Thursday.

Defending champion Wajid Ali, Umar Zeeshan, Ahsan Qamar, Atif Nadeem, Shabbar Hussain, Hashir Basheer, Ijaz Ahmed and Attique Chaudhary cruised into the men’s quarter-finals.

Wajid blasted Harison Brent (NBP) in straight sets 21-19, 21-13 to eliminate another hurdle on his way to retain the title.

Though Brent restricted Wajid well in the first set, giving a tough fight till the end, Wajid proved too good in the second set to wrap up victory easily.

Wajid’s forceful forehand shots and controlled game on the net proved he was well prepared to defend the title.

Atif Nadeem (NBP), Umar Zeeshan, possible challenger to Wajid in the final, Shabbar Hussain and Hashar Basheer all went to three-sets to complete the win.

Atif recovered to beat Ashraf Masih (New Khan) 19-21,21-9,21-6. Umar (Wapda) also staged a comeback after losing the first set to Waqas Ahmed (Wapda) to complete the rout 19-21,21-14,21-16. Shabbar Hussain (Wapda) also came from behind to drive out Imran Mohib (Wapda) 13-21,21-13,21-18.

Hashir Basheer (New Khan) struggled for 90 minutes to eliminate the challenge of Kashif Sulehry (NBP) 21-23,21-19,21-13.

Ijaz Ahmed (NBP) upset a seasoned rival Zafar Tasneem (Wapda) 21-15,22-20.

Ijaz grabbed the first set easily, but Zafar gave maximum resistance in the second set, before losing it and the match, too. In fact it was a game of stamina, in the second set.

National champion Ahsan Qamar (Sindh) beat Waqas Zahid (Railways) 21-18,21-17 to keep alive his chances to meet Wajid in the final again. Ahsan, who had upset Wajid in the last national championship, however, faced a tough fight from Waqas in both the sets.

Atique Chaudhary (Wapda) beat Nabeel (Railways) 21-14,21-14, in the last pre-quarterfinal.

In the women’s section, Ayesha Akram, Uzma Butt, Sara Mohmand, Palwasha Basheer, Sara Khan, Saima Manzoor, Sadia Arshad and Aneeqa Rana reached the quarter-finals.

Results (pre quarter-finals):

Ayesha Akram (NBP) bt Yasmeen (Railways) 21-9,21-15; Uzma Butt (Wapda) bt Saira Ahmed 21-8,21-10; Sara Mohmand (NBP) bt Sumaira (Railways) 21-10, 21-12; Sara Khan (NBP) bt Zoya (Punjab) 21-17,21-12; Palwasha Basheer (NBP) bt Farzana Shaheen (Wapda) 21-18,21-13; Saima Manzoor (Wapda) bt Salma Sharif (Railways) 21-12,21-16, Sadia Arshad (Wapda) bt Shahnaz Shah (Wapda) 21-11,21-10; Aneeqa Rana (Wapda) bt Aqsa Razzaq 21-14,21-7.

Wednesday’s results:

Men's singles: Wajid Ali bt Faisal Sarwar 21-10,28-26; Harison Brent bt Wasim Ismail14-21,21-19,21-12; Zafar Tasneem bt Murad Ali 21-13,23-21; Mohammad Ijaz bt Zohaib Qamar 21-8,21-10; Ahsan Qamar bt Imran Laeeq 21-10,21-14; Waqas Zahid bt Ahmed Nazir 21-14,21-12; Shabbar Hussain bt Faisal Afzal 21-17,21-8; Imran Mohib bt Sabir Haneef 21-16,21-15; Atif Nadeem bt Rizwan Azam 21-12,21-17. Ashraf Masih bt Ali Mehdi 21-6,21-13; Kashif Sulehry bt Arsalan Khan 21-15,21-18; Hashir Basheer bt Rizwan Rana 21-17,21-18; P.A.Nabeel bt Naveed 21-17,21-8; Attique Ch. bt Hafiz Irfan 21-4,21-11; Waqas Ahmed bt Shoaib Hafeez 21-15,21-16; Umer Zeeshan bt Javed Iqbal 21-15,21-16.

Women’s singles: Yasmeen bt Sidra 21-4,21-7; Aneeqa Rana bt Nida 21-12,21-13; Aqsa Razaq bt Danya 21-14,21-19; Sadia Arshad bt Ayesha 21-8,21-15; Saima Manzoor bt Monisha 21-14,21-18; Palwasha Basheer bt Asia 21-5,21-6, Farzana Shaheen bt Madiha Butt 21-15,21-13.