ISLAMABAD: Mohammad Abid Ali Akbar and Shamael Chaudhry remained the last hope for Pakistan at the ongoing Begum Kulsum Saifullah Khan ITF Futures after making it to the men’s doubles semi-finals on Thursday.

Abid and Shamael overcame Britain’s Joe Cooper and United States’ Matt Seeberger in straight sets 6-2, 6-4 here at the PTF Tennis Complex.

The duo also featured in an exhibition match against veterans Asiam-ul- Haq Qureshi and Aqeel Khan.In a media talk, Aisam said he is fully fit to participate in international tennis and in the upcoming Australian Open. The seasoned player said he was eager to give suggestions and input to the task force formed by Prime Minister Imran Khan for bringing improvement in the country’s sports sector.

Aisam said Pakistan is his main priority and he would represent the country in international events whenever required. Meanwhile, he also appreciated PTF for setting up new courts at PTF Complex.

Meanwhile, in men’s singles Korean top seed Cheong-Eui Kim continued his supremacy as he beat Alexis Canter of Great Britain 7-6 (5), 6-2.

Meanwhile, in the Begum Kulsum Saifullah Khan national ranking championship, being played at the same venue, Mohammad Shoaib, Musa Chaudhry, Sami Zeb and Subhan Bin Salik moved into the semi-finals.

While, after winning their matches Shimza Naz, Sara Mansoor, Ushna Suhail and Sara Mehboob also qualified for the semi-finals of the ladies’ singles event.

Results:

Men’s singles quarter-finals: Cheong-Eui Kim (KOR) bt Alexis Canter (GBR) 7-6 (5), 6-2; Sora Fukuda (JPN) bt Darko Jandric (SRB) 3-6, 6-3, 6-3; Kai Wehnelt (GER) bt Lorenzo Bocchi (ITA) 6-1, 6-2; Rio Noguchi (JPN) bt Hamidreza Nadaf (IRI) 6-3 6-2.

Men’s doubles quarter-finals: Anton Chekhov (RUS)/Kai Wehnelt (GER) bt Mohammad Abid (PAK)/Mohammed Wagas Malik (CAN) 6-2, 6-4; Sora Fukuda (JPN)/Rio Noguchi (JPN) bt Dmitry Myagkov (RUS)/Saida’lo Saidkarimov (UZB) 6-3, 6-4; Darko Jandric (SRB)/Cheong-Eui Kim (KOR) bt Ahmed Choudhary (PAK)/Niklas Johansson (SWE) 6-3, 6-2; Mohammad Abid Ali Khan Akbar (PAK)/Shamael Chaudhry (GBR) bt Joe Cooper (GBR)/Matt Seeberger (USA) 6-2, 6-4.

National Ranking Championship

Boys’ singles U-18 quarter-finals: M.Shoaib bt Osama Khan 6-1, 6-0; Musa Ch bt Hasam Khan 5-7, 6-4, 6-2; Sami Zeb bt Ahmed Asjad 2-6, 6-1, 6-2; Subhan Bin Salik bt Rayan Jawad 4-6, 6-2, 6-2.

Boys’ singles U-14 quarter-finals: Kashan Umar bt Hamza Roman 6-4, 6-0; Uzair Khan bt Huzaima Abdul Rehman 3-6, 6-2, 6-3; Sami Zeb bt M.Huzaifa Khan 6-1, 6-0; Abdul Hanan bt Talha Khan 6-0, 6-4.

Ladies’ singles quarter-finals: Shimza Naz bt Khunsha Baber 6-3, 7-5; Sara Mansoor bt Hania Navid 6-2, 6-2; Ushna Suhail bt Meheq Khokhar 6-2, 6-2; Sarah Mahboob bt Sheeza Sajid 6-0, 6-0.

Published in Dawn, December 14th, 2018