LAHORE: Azeem Sarwar was the only player who stretched to full distance before reaching the men’s singles semi-finals at the All-Pakistan Ranking Badminton Championships here on Thursday.

In an all-Wapda clash in the quarter-finals, Azeem faced stiff competition from Awais Zahid in a 35-minute gruelling battle on the court before emerging 20-22, 22-20, 21-8 winner.

Azeem will meet Irfan Saeed in another all-Wapda match in the semi-final after the Irfan defeated Anjum Bashir of SNGPL quite comfortably 21-14, 21-10 in just 20 minutes.

Aamir Saeed of Wapda will face NBP’s Murad Ali in the semi-final

Aamir outclassed his departmental team-mate Abdur Rehman 21-14, 21-16 in another one-sided match while Murad overcame seasoned campaigner Ahsan Qamar of PIA 21-16, 21-11 in his last-eight round match.

On the women’s side, Palwasha Bashir, Sidra Hamid, Sehra Akram and Khizra Rasheed all enjoy smooth sailing on their way to the semi-finals.

The quarter-finals of the doubles’ event in both men’s and women’s categories were also decided on Thursday. Results:

Quarter-finals:

Men’s singles: Azeem Sarwar (Wapda) bt Awais Zahid (Wapda) 20-22, 22-20, 21/8; Irfan Saeed (Wapda) bt Anjum Bashir (SNGPL) 21-14, 21-10; Amir Saeed (Wapda) bt Abdur Rehman (Wapda) 21-14, 21-16; Murad Ali (NBP) bt Ahsan Qamar (PIA) 21-16, 21-11.

Women’s singles: Palwasha Bashir (NBP) bt Mahoor Shahzad (Wapda) 23-21, 21-14; Sidra Hamid (Wapda) bt Ghazala Siddique (SNGPL) 21-17, 21-13; Sehra Akram (Wapda) bt Saba Mughal (Wapda) 21-17, 21-16; Khizra Rasheed (Wapda) bt Saima Waqas (Wapda) 21-14, 23-21.

Men’s doubles: Aun Abbas/Soban Jamil bt Anjum Bashir/Arsalan Khan (SNGPL) 21-17, 19-21, 21-16; Kashif Sulhari/Kashif Majeed bt Amir Saeed/Waqas Ahmed (Wapda) 21-19, 21-15; Hashir Bashir/Murad Ali bt Ali Nawab Dil/Abdur Rehman (Wapda) 23-21, 21-14; Irfan Saeed/Azeem Sarwar (Wapda) bt Shabbar Hussain/Adnan Aziz (Wapda) 21=16, 21-13.

Women’s doubles: Khizra Rasheed/Sidra Hamid (Wapda) bt Aqsa Zikria/Kausar Javed (HEC) 21-12, 21-17; Mahoor Shahzad/Sara Mohmand bt Huma Javed/Sehra Akram (Wapda) 21-17, 21-18; Ghazala Siddique/Javeria Tahir (SNGPL) beat Mehmoona Ameer/Saira Razzaq (Wapda) 21-8, 21-14; Saima Waqas/Palwasha Bashir bt Saima Asif/Zubara Butt (HEC) 21-8, 21-9.

Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2016