KARACHI, Nov 28 Continuing from where he had left on Thursday, unseeded Zulfiqar Hakeem stunned second seed Rafi Darbari from Hyderabad in straight sets to cruise into the 35-plus singles final of the Pakistan International Seniors world ranking tennis championship at Karachi Club on the penultimate day.

Zulfiqar, who the other day got the better of Indian K. V. N. Murthy in quarters, struggled to overcome his outstation opponent 7-6 (4), 6-2. He now faces another Hyderabad player, the top seed, Shabbir Gul, who accounted for M. Abdul Saeed in three gruelling sets 6-1, 3-6, 7-5 in the other pre-final.

The final line-up of the 55 plus singles was also completed on Friday when Gul Hameed and Iltifat Ahmed won their respective matches. The former shocked top seed Jamil Khan 6-2, 6-3 while the latter recovered from one set down to beat Sabih Wali 4-6, 6-3, 7-5.

In the 45 plus doubles, the pair of Azheruddin and Karim Gul Agha qualified for the final when they routed top seed duo of Khawaja Masroor and Shahid Aziz 6-2, 6-2.

All the five finals - two singles and three doubles - will be played on Saturday afternoon, the concluding day of the week long event.

Results

55 plus singles quarter-final

Iltifat Ahmed bt Anwar Younus 6-2, 6-3.

Semi-finals

Gul Hameed bt Jamil Khan 6-2, 6-3; Iltifat Ahmed bt Sabih Wali 4-6, 6-3, 7-5.

35 plus singles semi-finals

Zulfiqar Hakeem bt Rafi Darbari (Hyderabad) 7-6 (4), 6-2; Shabbir Gul (Hyderabad) bt M. Abdul Saeed 6-1, 3-6, 7-5.

35 plus doubles quarter-finals

Shabbir Gul and Rafi Darbari bt Imran and Suhail 6-3, 6-1; Altaf Hussain and Zulfiqar Hakeem bt Waseem Hyder and Ali Sawani 6-2, 6-4; Shahid Hussain and Asif Ismail bt M. Abdul Saeed and Bashir Khan 6-2, 6-3.

55 plus doubles first round

Gulzar Firoz and M. Ali bt M. Baqi Kaker and Dr. Shahid 6-0, 6-1.

Second round

Idrees Kodvavi and Yousuf Suleman bt Amin Bawani and Fhilippo Giuseppe 6-1, 6-1.

45 plus doubles semi-final

Azheruddin and Karim Gul Agha bt Khawaja Masroor and Shahid Aziz 6-2, 6-2.

Saturday's fixtures

Singles finals 4.00pm; doubles finals 5.00pm.

Opinion

Editorial

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...
Water vision
01 May, 2026

Water vision

WATER insecurity in Pakistan has been building up for decades as per capita water availability has declined from...
Vaccine policy
01 May, 2026

Vaccine policy

PAKISTAN has finally approved its first National Vaccine Policy; a step the health ministry has rightly described as...
Labour rights
Updated 01 May, 2026

Labour rights

THE annual observance of May Day should move beyond statements about the state’s commitment to the rights of...