KARACHI, Jan 29 Participation of Aqeel Khan, Nida Waseem and Islamabad`s Sara Mansoor has enhanced the status of second Sindh ranking tennis tournament of the year which gets into action at the Beach View Club on Friday.

The three players are among those who have confirmed their participation in the contest despite the fact that a meagre sum of Rs26,000 is at stake.

Some half-a-dozen players have also arrived from Quetta and will be seen in action in the weeklong event which concludes on Feb 6.

But what has surprised is the lack of interest shown by Hyderabad as not a single entry has been received by organisers at the time of filing this piece.

According to organisers, Aqeel Khan tops the men`s seeding followed by former member of the Davis Cup team Nomi Qamar. Similarly, Sara Mansoor heads the ladies seeding.

Friday`s fixtures

Men`s singles first round 9.00am