PESHAWAR, June 13: Punjab clinched the PSB National Under-16 Girls Badminton Championship defeating defending champions Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the final played at Town Hall in Abbottabad on Thursday.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, winners of the last three editions, were defeated by an inspired Punjab 3-2 in a nail-biting final.

Punjab’s Manahil Tariq faced little resistance from Arifa of KP as she won the match in straight sets 21-11, 21-15.

In the doubles event, Manahil and Zainab shocked the duo of Aruj and Iqra 3-1 with the scores being 15-21, 21-19, 21-17.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa got back in contention for the title when Aqsa defeated Zainab 21-13, 14-21, 15-21, 21-19, 21-17 in a thrilling match.

The defending champions drew level when Arifa and Aqsa overcame Azmat Firdos and Aqra 21-8, 21-19 but Azmat shook off the defeat in the doubles to stun Iqra Hassan 21-18, 17-21, 21-17 to seal the title for Punjab.

Director Sports Training and Coaching Tariq Mehmood graced the occasion as a chief guest with former national champion Zarina Jamal also being in attendance.—APP