ISLAMABAD: Veteran Aqeel Khan continued his domination as he confirmed his spot in the semi-finals of the 10th edition of Begum Kulsum Saifullah Khan National Ranking Tennis Championship here at the PTF Complex on Friday.

In the quarter-final fixtures, the-44-year-old Aqeel beat Shahzad Khan 6-3, 6-4 while second seed Mohammad Shoaib downed Abdullah Adnan with an identical scoreline.

The other last-eight matches saw Yousaf Khalil coming from a set down to defeat Mohammad Abid 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 and Muzammil Murtaza completed the semi-finals lineup after recording a win against Barkatullah 7-5, 6-2.

Earlier, the duo of Yousuf and Barkatullah edged the pair of Abdullah Adnan and Heera Ashiq 7-5, 7-6(5) to move into the final. They will face the team of Shoaib and Muzammil, who defeated Abubakar Talha and Mohammad Abid 7-6(5), 6-2, in the decider.

In the women’s quarters, Noor Malik — who ousted top seed Sheeza Sajid on Thursday — continued her sublime form as she recorded a flawless 6-0, 6-0 victory over Lalarukh Sajid.

Amna Ali Qayum, Soha Ali and Mehaq Khokar also registered comfortable triumphs to book the semi-final berths.

Meanwhile, Bilal Asim brushed aside Mohammad Yahya 6-3, 6-1 to set the final date with Abubakar, who beat Hamza Roman 7-5, 6-4.

Results (quarter-finals):

Boys Under-14: Ruhab Faisal bt Waqas Janas 4-1, 5-3; Hassan Usmani bt Zohaib Amjad 4-0, 4-0; Muhammad Shayan Afridi bt Razik Sultan 4-2, 4-1; M. Junaid bt Ismail Aftab 1-4, 5-4(3).

Boys Under-12: Rashid Ali bt Zayd Zaman 4-1, 3-5, 4-1; Shayan Afridi bt Majid Ali Bachani 4-0, 4-1; M.Ayan bt M. Muaz 5-4(5), 4-2.

Published in Dawn, January 4th, 2025