KARACHI, April 29: Punjab thrashed Fata 2-0 to advance into the final of the PSB Inter-provincial boys’ under-14 tennis championship which commenced at the Customs Sports Complex on Friday.

Last year’s finalists Punjab and Islamabad, who were declared joint champions due to bad light, were seeded one and two respectively and given first round bye in the six-team contest.Other teams featuring in the event include Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Fata and Sindh.

Earlier, hosts Sindh and Fata were home straight 2-0 against Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa respectively to storm into semi-finals.

Sindh faces Islamabad in the second pre-final on Saturday at 9am. This will be followed by playoff for 3rd-4th positions and final.

At the outset provincial health department doctors accompanied by organisers carried out physical scrutiny besides verifying B forms of players.

Meanwhile, two players, Mudassir Murtaza and Nofil Kaleem, arrived by air from Islamabad in the evening to join their team.

The former had beaten the latter 6-3, 6-3 in the final earlier in the day in Islamabad to win boys’ under-14 title of the CDA Margalla National Ranking tournament. Results: First round: Sindh bt Balochistan 2-0 (Nazif Ahmed bt Mohammed Tayyab 6-0, 6-0; Marib Malik bt Mohammed Umer 6-0, 6-0).

Fata bt Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 2-0  (Asadullah bt Saqib Hayat 6-0, 6-1; Shakirullah bt Mohammed Shoaib 6-2, 6-7, 6-3). First semi-final: Punjab bt Fata 2-0 (Hasnain Manzoor bt Jibran 6-0, 6-0; Zaid Mujahid bt Asadullah 6-1, 6-1).

Opinion

Editorial

On press freedoms
Updated 03 May, 2026

On press freedoms

THE citizenry forgets, to its own peril, how important a free and independent media is in the preservation of their...
Inflation strain
03 May, 2026

Inflation strain

PAKISTAN’S return to double-digit inflation after 21 months signals renewed economic strain where external shocks...
Troubled waters
03 May, 2026

Troubled waters

PAKISTAN’S water crisis is often framed in terms of scarcity. Increasingly, it is also a crisis of contamination....
Iran stalemate
Updated 02 May, 2026

Iran stalemate

THE US and Iran are currently somewhere between war and peace. While a tenuous ceasefire — extended largely due to...
Tax shortfall
02 May, 2026

Tax shortfall

THE Rs684bn shortfall in tax collection during the first 10 months of the fiscal year is a continuation of a...
Teaching inclusion
02 May, 2026

Teaching inclusion

DISCRIMINATORY and exclusionary content in Punjab’s textbooks has been flagged in Inclusive Education for a United...