LAHORE - Faizan Fayyaz, Bilal Asim, Hussnain Ali Rizwan and Haniya Minhas grabbed double crowns in their respective categories in the Alam Al Khyal Junior National Ranking Tennis Tournament, which concluded here at the Punjab Tennis Academy, Bagh-e-Jinnah on Monday.
Alam Al Khayal Foundation President Mrs Nudrat Abdul Majeed Mian graced the finals as chief guest and she, along with PLTA Secretary Rashid Malik, distributed prizes and shields among the position holders. Malik also presented a souvenir to the chief guest and lauded the services of Alam Al Khyal Foundation for promotion of tennis in the country and hoped that more such sponsors will come forward for the uplift of this beautiful game.
Chief guest Mrs Nudrat lauded the sincere efforts and passion of PLTA Secretary Rashid Malik (Tamgha-e-Imtiaz) for tennis, due to which the game has been flourishing fast in Punjab. She said that her foundation is ready to extend more and more support for tennis and wants to see talented youth of the country excelling in the field of sports at national and international level.
Faizan Fayyaz first clinched the boys U-18 title after beating spirited Nalain Abbas 7-5, 6-4 and then he, partnering with Nalain Abbas, grabbed the boys U-18 doubles title by outpacing the pair of Zain-ul-Abideen/Ifham Rana 6-2, 6-2. SICAS’ Bilal Asim first overwhelmed Haider Ali Rizwan 6-3, 6-0 for the boys U-14 title and then he, partnering with Ahmad Nael, outperformed Haider Ali Rizwan/Shazaib Zahid 4-1, 4-2 for boys U-14 doubles title.
The boys U-12 singles final proved to be one of the best matches of the concluding day as both the players gave each other tough time and fought for each and every point and in the end, Hussnain Ali Rizwan (LGS Paragon) prevailed over Ahtesham Humayun to win the final 4-6, 7-6, 10-8, thus grabbed the title. He won his second title in the boys/girls U-12 doubles final, where he, partnering with Ahtesham Humayun, defeated Ameer Mazari/Abu Bakar Talha 5-4.
Emerging talent Haniya Minhas played tremendous tennis against Soha Ali and outlasted her 4-1, 4-0 to annex girls U-12 title. She then claimed her second crown in boys/girls U-10 final, where she played flawless tennis against Hamza Ali Rizwan, thrashing him 4-0, 4-0. Haniya has been excelling in her respective categories by winning titles one after another and it was her hard work and passion for the game, due to which she is being dubbed as future tennis star by many tennis greats.
Eshal Sajjad of APS Garrison Junior Academy grabbed the gold medal in boys/girls U-8 category by beating Hassan Nizami 11-3. It was Eshal’s second gold medal of this year while last year, she won a record number of 17 gold medals and now she is keen to break the previous year’s record. In girls U-18 final, Shimza Durab played well against Zahra Suleman and comfortably won the title by routing her opponent 6-2, 6-1. The girls U-14 title was lifted by spirited Labika Durab, who was in sublime form and played phenomenal tennis against Soha Ali to win the final 4-0, 4-1.