LAHORE  -  Asad Zaman, Bilal Asim and Abdul Hanan Khan qualified for the semifinals of the Punjab Lawn Tennis Association (PLTA) Punjab Junior Tennis Championship after winning their respective quarterfinals played here at the Punjab Tennis Academy, Bagh-e-Jinnah on Wednesday. 

In the U-18 quarterfinals, Asad Zaman (McDonald’s) was up against Shaeel Durab and played superb tennis against him to win the encounter 6-0, 6-4. Asad was off to a flying start as he fully dominated the first set and won it 6-0. The U-14 champion though faced some resistance from Shaeel in the second set, yet he managed to win 6-4, thus booked berth in the semifinals.  Talking to media after winning his match, Asad thanked his coach Rashid Malik (ZTBL) and joint coach Faheem Siddiqui for guiding and training him in the best possible manner, which is helping win excel at higher level. “My main aim is to excel at international level, for which I need international standard training and facilities. I am grateful to Mr. Tariq Zaman for his generous support and coach Rashid Malik for his able guidance and training, which will surely help me make my dream come true one day.”

In other quarterfinals of the day, talented Bilal Asim played well against spirited Haider Ali Rizwan and after facing some tough resistance from Haider, won the crucial match 6-4, 6-4. Another promising tennis player Abdul Hanan Khan also displaying quality tennis skills and techniques against upcoming player Hussnain Ali Rizwan and outpaced him with a score of 6-0, 6-4. 

In U-18 doubles quarterfinals, Faizan Fayyaz/Shaeel Durab defeated Hassan Ali/Zaeem Ghafoor 8-5. 

In girls U-18 quarterfinals, Zahra Suleman played superb tennis against young Hajra and thrashed her 6-0 while Aleena Suleman was up against Fajar Fayyaz and outlasted her 8-4. In U-14 quarterfinals, Husnain Ali Rizwan (LGS Paragon) outclassed Muhammad Sohaan Noor 8-2 and Hamza Ali Rizwan (LGS Paragon) beat Zain Saeed 8-3.