LAHORE   -  As many as 16 matches were played on the third day of the Hush Puppies Junior National Tennis Championship 2021 here at the PLTA Courts on Thursday. 

In the U-18 quarterfinals, Faizan Fayyaz beat Zalan Khan 1-6, 6-1, 6-3, Uzair Khan beat Farman Shakeel 7-6, 6-2, Hamid Israr beat Nalain Abbas 6-4, 7-5, Hasheesh Kumar beat Ahmad Nael 6-1, 4-6, 6-4. In the U-14 quarterfinals, Haider Ali Rizwan beat Haroon Arshad 4-0, 4-0, Ahtesham Humayun beat Hamza Roman 4-0, 4-0 and Asad Zaman beat Ameer Mazari 4-0, 4-1. In U-12 quarterfinals, Haniya Minhas beat Abubakar Talha 0-4, 4-1, 4-2, Hamza Ali Rizwan beat Nabeel Ali Qayum 4-0, 4-2 and Hamza Roman beat Zohaib Afzal Malik 4-0, 4-2. 

In U-10 category, Abdur Rehman bin Muhammad Sohail, currently ranked Pakistan No 1 of AAA Associates, qualified for the final after beating Salal Bughti in the semifinal, whereas his sister Hajra Sohail, also of AAA Associates, set final clash against his brother, by beating Fajar Fayyaz 5-3, 4-2. Both the girls fought for about two hours and it has moved Hajra’s ranking to Pakistan No 2. 

Muahmmad Sohail, father of Abdur Rehman and Hajra, has said that despite limited resources, he has been trying to fulfill his children’s dream of becoming top national tennis players and especially thanked AAA Associates MD Lt Col Shahzad Ali Kiani for their entire support and admiration in training as well as helping their kids achieve all these feats. “I hope my kids will maintain their top rankings in national tennis events, flourish further and emerge as top players of the country.”