KARACHI: Pakistan table tennis has reached a new horizon, thanks to the collective efforts made by some budding players, their parents, coaches and the Pakistan Table Tennis Federation (PTTF). This is evident from the shining performance of the teenagers who dominated the 57th National Table Tennis Championships which concluded in Lahore recently.

The trio of Fahad Khwaja, Haiqa Hasan and Hoor Fawad scaled new heights becoming youngest ever men’s singles, women’s singles and mixed doubles (Hoor / Faizan Zahoor) champions, respectively. They all showed the door to veterans and proved where there is a will there is a way.

In a sheer surprise, the men’s singles final turned out to be an all-brothers affair that saw Fahad prevailing over Umam. The showdown equalled the feat of brothers Javed Hayat and Sohail Hayat after almost five decades. Javed and Sohail met in the final of the country’s premier table tennis championship thrice — 1971, 1975 and 1977 — with the former winning twice (1971, 1977).

By capturing the crown, the 21-year-old Fahad, who hails from Peshawar, made Khyber Pakhtunkhwa proud by becoming the first player from the province to reach the zenith.

Here it is pertinent to mention that Shah Khan from Swat also won top honours in the men’s singles event of the 56th National Table Tennis Championships. However, he in that event was representing Wapda, not the province.

“I have achieved distinction with hard work day in and day out,” an elated Fahad told Dawn.

Earlier, he proved his mettle at the junior level winning two silvers in Pakistan and Sri Lanka at the South Asian U-18 championship.

Umam, 17, has also performed exceptionally as finishing as runner-up in the men’s competition is no mean achievement.

Playing alongside many experienced players, Haiqa also hit the headlines by capturing elusive women’s singles crown at a tender age of 14.

Contrary to Fahad who won the title for his province, Haiqa represented Army. She is a grade VIII student in Shahwilayat Public School which holds a good track record in the game.

She recorded her first big success by clinching the mixed doubles title in the previous edition of the national championship held in Quetta in the company of Salman Birk.

The 13-year old Hoor also made her mark by bagging the mixed doubles event alongside Faizan.

Both the Karachi girls also steered Army to triumph in the women’s team event final thus ending the competition on a high with double crown. Sana Muzaffar was the third player of the team.

A student of Shaheen Public School in grade VIII, Hoor has won many titles during the last four years. She became the youngest ever player to claim gold in the women’s team event at the age of nine years for Karachi in Sindh Games.

She then bagged five medals — three gold and two silver — in the National Junior Table Tennis Championship at Peshawar in February last year. She is also the incumbent Karachi champion in women’s category.

The Army Sports Directorate was quick to offer contracts to Haiqa and Hoor last year which yielded fruitful results.

“The success is a testimony of the rigorous training of the players and they look destined to go another mile in the days to come,” PTTF chairman S.M. Sibtain, who drafted the English version of the Asian Table Tennis Union (ATTU) constitution in May 1972 besides serving the global and regional bodies on different committees, told Dawn while acknowledging their feat.

Former international Arif Khan, the only International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) trainer in Pakistan, was also full of praise for the prodigies.

At a time when the axe has fallen on hundreds of departmental players, these promising stars deserve patronage from their respective provincial governments.

Published in Dawn, March 5th, 2022