LAHORE - Faizan Fayyaz, Shaeel Durab and Haniya Minhas won the boys U-18, boys U-16 and girls U16 singles titles in the Rafum Punjab Junior Tennis Championship, which concluded here at the Punjab Tennis Academy on Saturday.
Athletic Federation of Pakistan (AFP) President Maj Gen (r) Akram Sahi graced the finals as chief guest while Rafum Group CEO Zahid Hussain was guest of honour. Other notables present on the occasion were PLTA Secretary Rashid Malik (Tamgha-e-Imtiaz), players and their families and tennis enthusiasts. At the concluding ceremony, the chief guest gave away prizes and certificates to the winners.
In the boys U-18 final, Faizan Fayyaz had to struggle hard to down spirirtedShaeel Durab with a score of 3-6, 6-3, 10-4. Shaeel, who couldn’t lift the boys U-18 singles title, succeeded in clinching the boys U-16 title by comfortably beating Hassan Ali with a margin of 6-2, 6-0. Young tennis sensation Haniya Minhas played superb tennis against Amna Ali Qayyum to claim the girls U-16 title. Haniya won the final by 6-0, 6-1.
The boys U-14 final proved to be a thrilling encounter, which was witnessed and enjoyed by a cheering crowd. Both Ahtesham Humayun and Shehryar Anees matches fire-with-fire till the end and after a tough fight, Ahtesham succeeded in lifting the title. He won the final by 6-3, 3-6, 10-7. The boys/girls U-10 title was won by Aalay Hussain, who beat Fajar Fayyaz 8-4 in the final.
Abubakar Talha of Wapda emerged as the most decorated player of the championship by winning triple crowns. In the boys U-12 final, Abubakar defeated promising Hamza Ali Rizwan 2-4, 4-0, 4-2 for the first title, then partnering Zohaib Afzal Malik, Abubakar thrashed Ismail Aftab and Omer Jawad 4-0, 4-1 in the boys U-12 doubles final for the second title and finally partnering with his elder brother Ali Talha, Abubakar won the U-16 doubles final for the third title.
