LAHORE                   -                The 4th Alam Al Khayal Junior National Ranking Tennis Tournament 2020 commenced here at the Punjab Tennis Academy Bagh-e-Jinnah on Thursday. Total 14 matches were played on the opening day in the boys U-18 and U-16 singles and U-18 doubles categories.

In U-18 singles first round, Jabir Ali beat Sherhan Salim 7-6, 2-6, 6-3, Hussnain Ali beat Ibrahim Anjum 6-2, 6-4, Abdullah Anjum beat Tauheed Awais 6-1, 6-3, Ahtesham Arif beat Yahya Musa Luni 6-0, 6-2, Ahmad Amir beat Musa Haroon 6-4, 6-3, M Yahya Nawaz beat Ali Qayyum 6-2, 6-1 and Ahmer Saeed beat Khizer Mehboob 7-5, 6-3. In U-16 first round, Asad Zaman beat Arman Kamran 6-3, 7-5 and Shaeel Durab beat Ahmad Nael 7-5, 6-2.

In U-18 doubles quarterfinals, Farman Shakeel/Ahtesham Arif beat Jabir Ali/Khizer Mehboob 4-1, 4-0, Zain Chaudhry/Ifham Rana beat Zaeem Ghafoor/Abdullah Anjum 4-0, 4-2, Faizan Fayyaz/Nalain Abbas beat Tauheed Awais/Fakhar Zaman 4-0, 4-0 and Shaeel Durab/Hamza Jawad beat Sameer Ahmad/Ahmer Saeed 4-5, 4-2, 11-9. Today (Friday), the pre-quarterfinals of U-18, U-16, U-12 and semifinals of U-18 doubles will be decided at the PLTA Courts. Earlier, Punjab Lawn Tennis Association (PLTA) Secretary General Rashid Malik (Tamgha-e-Imtiaz) inaugurated the championship as a chief guest.

A large number of players are participating in the mega event from across the country as the Punjab Tennis Academy was crowded with the presence of large number of players and their parents on the opening day.

Speaking on the occasion, Malik thanked the sponsors for their consecutive support for this national event and hoped that with such a support and sponsorship from the sponsors, tennis is bound to excel in the country. “There is a dire need to develop and promote tennis nursuries in the country as it is the only solution to boost this game as the more the talent adopts, learns and masters this game, the better they will produce results and earn laurels for the country at international level.”