May 24, 2008	Saturday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 18, 1429

KARACHI, May 23: The Rs 0.2 million 36th Karachi Table Tennis Championships commenced at the Islamia Club indoor gymnasium on Friday, promising to unearth budding players for revival of the glorious past and carry the game to new heights.

An exhibition match between defending champion Khawaja Kashif and Asim Aziz marked the inauguration of the annual event.

The opening ceremony, unfortunately, lacked the fanfare due to the small attendance of participants and spectators.

The competing teams lined up as Khawaja Kashif and Maliha Khursheed took the oath on behalf of the men and women players. A total of 15 events will be played during the week-long tourney which concludes on May 29.

Meanwhile, Essa Laboratory and Islamia Club ‘A’ conjured up convincing victories over their opponent’s in the women’s team event, which commenced soon after the inauguration.

In two group ‘A’ matches, Essa Laboratory trounced Jamia Millia School 3-0 while Islamia ‘A’ accounted for Islamia ‘B’ by the identical scoreline.

In the men’s team event, Hassanabad Club got the better of Salawat Club 3-1 to earn full points.

As many as 26 teams that are vying for honours in the men team event have been drawn into eight groups. At the end of league matches, top team from each group will advance to the quarter-finals.

The women team event has attracted 10 teams that have been divided into two groups. The top two teams from each will make it to the semi-finals.

Groups:

Men’s team event (first stage):

Group 1: Islamia ‘A’, JDMC, Allied Engineering and Dawn News.

Group 2: Sunset Club, Happy Home School and Allied Engineering ‘B’.

Group 3: Sharfabad Club, PSO ‘B’ and Hino Pak ‘A’.

Group 4: Islamia ‘B’, Nasra School ‘K’ and Enam and Co.

Group 5: Essa Lab, Ziauddin Hospital ‘A’ and Aga Khan Gymkhana.

Group 6: Young Star ‘A’, Ziauddin Hospital ‘B’ and Bahria University.

Group 7: Hassanabad Club, Nasra School ‘SB’ and Salawat Club.

Group 8: PSO ‘A’, Hino Pak ‘B’, Young Star ‘B’ and Popular Fabric.

Women’s team event (first stage):

Group ‘A’: Islamia Club ‘A’, Essa Laboratory, Jamia Millia School ‘B’, JDMC and Islamia Club ‘B’.

Group ‘B’: Jamia Millia School ‘A’, Nasra School, Sharfabad Club, Mama Parsi School and Ziauddin University.

Results:

Women team event:

Essa Laboratory bt Jamia Millia School ‘B’ 3-0. Maliha Khursheed bt Ayesha 11-4, 11-5, 11-6; Ghalia Khursheed bt Naila 11-5, 11-1, 11-4; Varda bt Urooj 11-5, 11-2, 11-5.

Islamia Club ‘A’ bt Islamia Club ‘B’ 3-0. Nadia Khan bt Syeda 11-4, 11-3, 11-7; Noreen Tehseen bt Farah 11-3, 11-1, 11-5; Qurratul Ain bt Javeria 11-5, 11-3, 11-5.

Men team event:

Hassanabad Club bt Salawat Club 3-1. Zafar bt Umer 11-6, 11-4, 11-8; Asim Hussain bt Muqeet 11-5, 11-8, 11-5; Liaquat lost to Uzair 4-11, 11-9, 4-11, 10-12; Asim Hussain bt Umer 11-9, 11-6, 11-4.