KARACHI: Veteran international player and two-time ex- national table tennis champion Mazhar Qureshi died here on Thursday morning due to heart attack.

The deceased was laid to rest at Gulistan-e-Jauhar graveyard near Habib University. Earlier, his namaz-e-janaza was offered at Masjid Abu Bakar Siddiq, Naval Housing Scheme, Karsaz, after Asr prayers.

Mazhar, who belonged to table tennis decade of 60s, won the national titles twice in 1966 and 1969 beating Mohammad Hanif, also of Karachi, on both the occasions. Besides, he finished runners-up twice in 1964 and 1967.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Table Tennis Federation (PTTF) president S. M. Sibtain, has condoled the death of Mazhar and termed it a great loss to the fraternity of the game.

“He was a thorough gentleman and all his friends held him in high esteem,” he remarked.

He prayed to Allah to grant him a place in heaven besides giving courage to the bereaved family members to bear the loss.

A condolence meeting for the deceased will be held at the Islamia Club’s Majeed Khan gymnasium on Saturday at 5.00pm, former international player and International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) coach Arif Khan told Dawn.

Published in Dawn, January 15th, 2016