August 05, 2007	Sunday	Rajab 20, 1428

LAHORE, Aug 4: Top seed Wajid Ali, Umar Zeeshan, Ahsan Qamar and Hashar Bashir cruised into the men’s single semi-final of the 10th Amir Abdullah Khan Rokri badminton tournament on Friday.

In ladies category, Ayesha Akram, Saadia Arshad, Sara Khan and Uzma Butt confirmed berths in the last four.

Defending champion, Wajid brushed aside Ijaz Ahmad in straight sets 21-8, 21-14.

Being a seasoned campaigner, Wajid faced little fight from little-known Ijaz. He wrapped up the first set in just 14 minutes and completed the win by winning the second set in 20 minutes.

On the other end, Ahsan, who had upset Wajid in the last national championship, worked hard to oust Shabbar Hussain in three setter 21-13, 11-21, 21-19, to set date with Wajid in the pre-final.

The semi-final between Wajid and Ahsan is being considered as the final of the event as winner will have more chances to also win the all-important match on Sunday.

The third hot favourite for the final, Umar Zeeshan, though registered a straight set win against Atiq Chaudhary, he had to fight hard in each set, before winning with the scoreline 21-19, 22-20.

In the fourth quarter-final Hashar proved too good against Atif Nadeem to come out victorious with the score 21-19, 21-18.

National champion, Ayesha Akram made little work to beat Aneeqa Rana 21-11, 21-10. to enter the semi-final. Saadia sent Saima Manzoor home after winning the second quarter-final 21-18, 21-18.

Sara Khan outplayed Palwasha Bashir after a gruelling fight 21-15, 19-21, 21-12. Former national champion Uzma Butt thrashed Sara Mohmand 21-10, 21-11.

Results:

Men's singles (quarter-finals):

Wajid Ali bt Mohammad Ijaz 21-8, 21-14; Ahsan Qamar bt Shabbar Hussain 21-13, 11-21, 21-19; Hashar Bashir bt Atif Nadeem 21-19, 21-18; Umar Zeeshan bt Atiq Chaudhary 21-19, 22-20.

Women's singles (quarter-final):

Ayesha Akram bt Aneeqa Rana 21-11, 21-10; Saadia bt Saima Manzoor 21-18, 21-18; Sara Khan bt Palusha 21-15, 19-21, 21-12; Uzma Butt bt Sara Mohamnd 21-10, 21-11.

Women's doubles : Ayesha-Sara Khan bt Yasmin-Sumaira 21-11, 21-8; Shahnaz Shah-Farzana bt Aqsa-Salma 21-4, 21-13; Sara Mohamand-Uzma Butt bt Saadia-Aniqa Rana 21-17, 21-12.

Men's doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Atiq-Rizwan bt Akhtar-Zaheer 21-9, 21-16; Atif Nadeem-Ashraf bt Imran Mohib-Waqas Ahmad 21-19, 21-19; Wajid Ali-Ahsan Qamar bt Tahir Javed-Nadeem Zafar 21-10, 21-12; Pervez Akhtar-Zohaib Qamar bt Murad Ali-Harrison 21-11, 11-17, 21-11; Azhar Javed-Qasim Khan bt Habib Alam-Ali Nawaz 21-12, 21-10; Rizwan Rana-Irfan Rana bt Kashif-Danish 21-8, 21-13; Ijaz Ahmed-Hashar bt Taimur-Awais Zahid 21-14, 21-13; Umar Zeeshan-Zafar Tasnim bt Shabbar Hussain-Naveed 21-19, 21-19.