LAHORE: Pakistan’s hopes of qualifying for the BNP Paribas ITF wheelchair tennis team Cup took a major hit as they suffered a comprehensive 3-0 defeat to Sri Lanka in the round-robin stage at the Pattaya Greta Sports club in Thailand on Thursday.

The Pakistani team, led by Fida Hussain and Asif Abbasi, were simply outclassed by their Sri Lankan counterparts, who are ranked among the top 50 in the ITF wheelchair tennis world rankings.

In the men’s singles, Sri Lanka’s Kumara KGM Parderp showed his class as he defeated Fida in straight sets, winning 6-0, 6-0. Asif Abbasi also struggled in his singles match, losing 6-2, 6-3 to Dissanayake Gamini.

The Pakistani pair of Muha­mmad Ayub and Asif fared no better in the doubles match, as they were whitewashed 6-0, 6-0 by Sri Lanka’s Dharmasena Suresh and Gamini.

Published in Dawn, March 3rd, 2023