ISLAMABAD            -           Aisam-ul-Haq and Aqeel Khan won the men’s doubles title in the 5th Shaheed Benazir Bhutto National Ranking Tennis Championship 2019 after beating Huzifa Abdul Rehman and M Shoaib in the final here at Islamabad Tennis Complex on Thursday

Deputy Chairman Senate Saleem Mandviwalla graced the occasion as chief guest while Senator Taj Haider, Fazle Subhan, PTF President Salim Saifullah Khan, PTF management and tennis lovers were also present there. Aisam is not only a true champion but also a humbled human as despite getting late for warm-up, he allowed almost every individual to have a picture with him.

In the first set, Aisam/Aqeel managed to break the very first serve of Huzaifa/Shoaib and then raced onto take 2-0 lead. They maintained their dominance till the end and broke the ninth serve of the youngsters to take the first set 6-3 in 25 minutes. In the second set, Aisam/Aqeel played better tennis and kept their opponents under pressure and won the second set 6-2 in 35 minutes to clinch the title.

In the men’s singles quarterfinals, Aqeel Khan was given tough fight by Yousaf Khalil, who went down fighting 3-6, 3-6 while in the other quarterfinals, Ahmed Chaudhry stunned Shehzad Khan 6-4, 6-2, Muzamil Murtaza beat Huzaifa 0-6, 6-2, 6-3 and Heera Ashiq beat AmanAtiq 6-2, 6-1. In boys’ U-18 pre-quarterfinals, Subhan bin Saliq beat Nalain Abbas 1-6, 6-4, 6-2, Aqib Hayat beat Osama Khan 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 and M Shoaib beat M Huzaifa Khan 6-1, 6-1.

In boys’ U-14 pre-quarterfinals, Huzaifa A Rehman beat Kamran Khan 4-2, 4-1, Uzair Khan beat Ahtesham Humayun 4-2, 4-0, Ahmad Nael beat Taimoor Khan 4-0, 4-1, Hamid Israr beat Ali Zain 4-0, 4-2, Hamza Asim beat Husnain Rizwan 4-1, 5-4(1), Haider Ali Rizwan beat Yahya Musa Luni 4-1, 4-1 and Mahatir Muhammad beat Shasawar Khan 4-1, 5-3. In ladies singles pre-quarterfinals, Sara Mansoor w/o Sara Rehman, Mehak Khokhar beat Mahnoor Sohail 6-0, 6-1, Mahvish Chisti beat Saher Aleem 6-0 and 6-1, Mariam Mirza beat Mahrukh Farooqui 6-2 and 6-1, Mahin Aftab beat Nida Akram 6-0 and 6-0.

In boys/girls U-12 pre-quarterfinals, Haniya Minhas w/o Rayan Saud, Hamza Roman beat Lalarukh Sajid 4-0, 4-0 and Asad Zaman beat Sohail Afzal 3-5, 4-0, 4-0. In boys/girls U-10 pre-quarterfinals, Haniya Minhas beat M Shayan 4-0, 4-0, Haziq Asim beat Saqib Ali 4-1, 4-1, Nabeel Qayum beat Hassan Usmani 5-4(10), 2-4, 5-4, Amir Mazari beat Zunaisha Noor 4-0, 4-0, Ammar Masood beat Abdul Wasay 4-0, 4-0. In men’s doubles 45 plus, Imran Ahmed/Azeem Khan beat Isrargul/Jahanzeb Khan 6-3, 6-4, Col Shahid/Col Aqeel Kiyani beat Ali Qayum/GulHameed 6-3, 6-0.

Talking to The Nation, Senator Saleem Mandviwalla said: “I am lifelong fan of Aisam and today, I got a chance to watch him playing live in front of me and it was amazing feeling. Fazle Subhan and Senator Taj Haider also deserve full credit for holding the event successfully. Benazir Bhutto was also a great sports admirer, so this event is a small tribute to her services for sports. I will try to come on the finals and bring Co-Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari with me.”

Meanwhile, PLTA Secretary Rashid Malik (Tamgha-e-Imtiaz) has thanked the PTF chief for acknowledging the last four-year services of PLTA for the promotion of tennis across Punjab. “It was made possible due to all-out support and cooperation of PLTA Chairman Rao Iftikhar Ahmad and President Dr Raheel Siddiqui, who fully supported me in conducting a record number of national tennis events not only last year but this year as well. We are eager to conduct more events as our main focus is on hunting and grooming the young talent and transforming them into the champions,” Malik added.