LAHORE: Wapda dominated the semi-finals of the 61st National Badminton Championship, advancing to both the men’s and women’s finals here at the Wapda Sports Complex on Wednesday.

In the men’s section, Wapda defeated Sui Northern Gas Pipelines 3-0, while Army downed Higher Education Commission with the same score in the other semi-final.

Muqeet Tahir and Awais Zahid won their singles fixtures for Wapda while Irfan Saeed and Azeem Sarwar won their doubles match to ensure the final berth.

For Army, Raja Hassan and Abdullah Latif emerged triumphant in their singles matches while the duo of Raja Hasnain and Shoaib Riaz won their doubles tie.

In the women’s category, Wapda trounced Army 3-0 and Sindh fought hard to oust Punjab 3-2, securing a thrilling comeback victory.

The women’s last-four fixture between Sindh and Punjab proved to be the most intense match of the day.

Sehar Abdul Majeed gave Punjab an early lead, defeating Mariyam Hamza 21-15, 21-11 in the first singles.

However, Sindh’s duo of Palwasha Bashir and Mariyam Hanif levelled the score by winning the first doubles against the pair of Sehar and Kanz-ul-Eman 21-12, 21-9.

Mariyam Hanif then put Sindh ahead, defeating Amal Muneeb 22-20, 23-21 in the second singles.

Amal, though, made amends in the doubles when she partnered up with Aimen to rout the duo of Mariyam Hamza and Rahima 21-8, 21-7.

In the decisive third singles, seasoned campaigner Palwasha sealed Sindh’s victory, thumping Aimen 21-12, 21-7.­

Published in Dawn, October 3rd, 2024