ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s top-ranked Mohammad Irfan and his compatriot Rizwan Azam along with Vietnam’s Duc Phat Le and Emre Lale of Turkey qualified for the men’s singles semi-finals in the Pakistan International Series Badminton Tournament at the Liaquat Gymnasium here on Friday.

Seventh seed Irfan eased past Syria’s Aljallad Ahmed 21-15, 21-13 in their quarter-final.

Sixth seed Rizwan -- after losing the first game of his last-eight clash against Nepal’s Ratanajit Tamang 10-21 -- made a strong comeback to bag the second game 21-17. In the decisive game, while taking full advantage of home crowd, Rizwan defeated his opponent 21-16.

In the other quarter-finals, top seed Duc Phat Le routed Turkey’s Mohammad Ali Kurt 21-11, 21-16 while Emre Lale overwhelmed Pakistan’s Azeem Sarwar 21-12, 21-16.

Meanwhile, two Pakistan players in the women’s singles also reached the semi-finals.

Sehra Akram overcame compatriot Ghazala Siddique 23-21, 21-10 in the quarter-final while Mahoor Shahzad defeated Bushra Qayyum, also a Pakistani, 21-9, 21-16 in their last-eight match.

Thi Phuong Thuy Tran of Vietnam defeated Pakistan’s Khizra Rasheed 21-11, 21-9 and Sri Lanka’s Hasini Nausaka Ambalanggodage beat Palwasha Bashir of Pakistan 21-17, 19-21, 21-12 in the other two women’s singles quarter-finals.

Results:

Men’s singles (Quarter-finals): Duc Phat Le (Vietnam) bt Mohammad Ali Kurt (Turkey) 21-11, 21-16; Rizwan Azam (Pakistan) bt Ratnajit Tamang (Nepal) 10-21, 21-17, 21-16; Emre Lale (Turkey ) bt Azeem Sarwar (Pakistan) 21-12, 21-16; Mohammad Irfan Saeed Bhatti (Pakistan) bt Aljallad Ahmed (Syria) 21-15, 21-13.

Women’s singles (Quarter-finals): Sehra Akram (Pakistan) bt Ghazala Siddique (Pakistan) 23-21, 21-10; Mahnoor Shahzad (Pakistan) bt Bushra Qayyum (Pakistan) 21-9, 21-16; Thi Phuong Thuy Tran (Vietnam) bt Khizra Rasheed (Pakistan) 21-11, 21-9; Hasini Nausaka Ambalanggodage (Sri Lanka) bt Palwasha Bashir (Pakistan) 21-17, 19-21, 21-12.

Women’s singles (Pre-quarterfinals): Hasini Nausaka Ambalangodage (Sri Lanka) bt Saba Rasheed (Pakistan) 21-6, 21-10; Sehra Akram (Pakistan) bt Nangsal Tamang (Nepal) 22-20, 22-20; Ghazala Siddique (Pakistan) bt Sara Mohmand (Pakistan) 21-9, 17-21, 21-17; Mahnoor Shahzad (Pakistan) bt Zubaira Butt (Pakistan) 21-16, 21-9; Khizra Rasheed (Pakistan) bt Javeria Tahir (Pakistan) 21-9, 13-21, 23-21; Bushra Qayyum (Pakisatan) bt Maisan Fathuhulla Ismail (Maldives) 21-17, 20-22, 21-19; Thi Phuong Thuy Tran (Vietnam) bt Huma Javeed (Pakistan) 21-13, 21-9.

Men’s doubles (Quarter-finals): Le Thanh Lam/Quang Dinh Tran (Turkey) bt Mohammad Rizwan/Fazal Rehman (Pakistan) 21-17, 21-15; Mohammad Atique/Awais Zahid (Pakistan) bt Anjum Bashir/Shahmeer Iftikhar (Pakistan) 21-15, 21-11; Rizwan Azam/Kashif Sulehri (Pakistan) bt Shoaib Riaz/Mohammad Muqeet Tahir (Pakistan) 21-11, 21-15; Mohammad Irfan Saeed Bhatti/Azeem Sarwar (Pakistan) bt Murad Ali/Hashir Bashir (Pakistan) 21-16, 16-21, 21-14.

Men’s doubles (Pre-quarterfinals): Mohammad Atique/Awais Zahid (Pakistan) bt Bishnu Katwal/Sajan Katwal (Nepal) 21-14, 21-19; Mohammad Irfan Saeed Bhatti/Azeem Sarwar (Pakistan) bt Ahsan Asif/Waqas Zahid (Pakistan); Shoaib Riaz/Mohammad Muqeet Tahir (Pakistan) bt Aljallad Ahmed/Hussein Zayan Shaheed (Maldives) 21-18, 12-21, 21-18; Anjum Bashir/Shameer Iftikhar (Pakistan) bt Aoun Abbas/Waqas Ahmed (Pakistan) 21-16, 21-16; Le Thanh Lam/Quang Dinh Tran (Vietnam) bt Dipesh Dhami/Ratnajit Tamang (Nepal) 21-18, 17-21, 21-16; Rizwan Mohammad/Fazal Rehman (Pakistan) bt Abdur Rehman/Soban Jamil (Pakistan) 14-21, 26-24, 21-16.

Mixed doubles (Quarter-finals): Dipesh Dhami/Shova Gauchan (Nepal) bt Aoun Abbas/Mehmoona Ameer (Pakistan) 21-11, 21-15; Ratnajit Tamang/Nangsal Tamang (Nepal) bt Waqas Zahid/Zubaira Butt (Pakistan) 21-13, 21-15; Waqas Ahmed/Saima Waqas (Pakistan) bt Ahmed Nibal/Maisa Fathuhalla Ismail (Maldives) 21-10, 21-13; Bishnu Katwal/Sunayana Mukhiya (Nepal) bt Mohammad Attique/Ghazala Siddique (Pakistan) 15-21, 23-21, 21-19.

Women’s doubles (Quarter-finals): Sara Mohmand/Saba Rasheed (Pakistan) bt Sunayana Mukhiya/Nangsal Tamang (Nepal) 25-23, 10-21, 21-14; Palwasha Bashir/Khizra Rasheed (Pakistan) bt Mehmoona Amir/Bushra Qayyum (Pakistan) 21-13, 21-7.

Published in Dawn, November 11th, 2017