PESHAWAR: Both Hafiz Irfan and Mahnoor Shehzad earned upset wins to clinch the men’s and women’s singles titles in the inaugural All-Pakistan Shuhada-e-Army National Ranking Bad­minton Championship which concluded here at the Peshawar Services Club on Wednesday.

Third seed Irfan of Wapda overpowered his organisation colleague and second seed Abdur Rehman in an action-packed final.

Both players offered some excellent cross-court and forceful overhead smashes in the narrowly contested match. Irfan was made to work hard by his opponent to win the first game 21-19. The second game saw an equally tough encounter which was taken 23-21 by Rehman. However, Irfan maintained his composure and in a stunning-cum-resolute manner ultimately seized the decisive game 23-21 — but not without a magnificent fight from Rehman — to clinch the title in front of the packed-to-capacity crowd.

Meanwhile, the women’s summit clash proved as close and thrilling as the men’s.

Third seed Mahnoor of Wapda created history as she upset Pakistan’s No.1 and South Asian Games bronze medallist Khazra Rasheed, also of Wapda, in the three-game match.

After bagging the opening game 21-18, Mahnoor lost the second 18-21 to the better-placed rival. The Neck-and-neck battle continued in the final game in which Mahnoor regained control to prevail upon Khazra 21-19, the effort giving the promising young player a memorable triumph.

In the men’s doubles final, Owais and Irfan blanked Murad Ali and Azeem 2-0; Sidra and Khazra Rasheed defeated Saima and Farzia 2-0 in the women’s doubles title clash and the mixed doubles category was won by Irfan Saeed and Memoona who beat Ghazala and Anjum 2-0.

President of the Pakistan Badminton Federation and former informational minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain, squash legend Qamar Zaman and Brig. Inayat Hussain of 102 Brigade, the president of the Peshawar Services Club, graced the occasion as guests who distributed trophies and cash prizes among winners of different categories.

Published in Dawn, May 5th, 2016