KARACHI, Feb 16: Two-day qualifying round in the 0.2 million rupees IC trophy national ranking tennis championship commenced at the Karachi Gymkhana courts on Thursday.

The qualifying rounds are being held in men’s singles, under-18 singles and under-14 singles categories.

President of the Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF), Syed Kaleem Imam, who graced the occasion, formally inaugurated the event by playing a shot in the court.

Results: Men’s singles: Qualifying round one: Asif Bachani (Hyderabad) bt Sikander Hayat Khan 6-2, 6-4; Malik Hamza bt Salman Butt 6-0, 3-0 (retired); Saad Mubarik (Lahore) bt Hassan Siddiqui 6-3, 6-1; Abdullah Khan bt Ayaz Khan 6-2, 6-4; Saif Noor Sumar bt Maaz Veqar (walkover).

Friday’s fixtures: Juniors’ under-18 singles qualifying round 9am; boys and girls under-14 singles qualifying round 11am; men’s singles qualifying round 1pm.—Sports Correspondent