LAHORE - Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) President Salim Saifullah Khan on Monday inaugurated the Shehryar Malik Memorial National Grass Court Tennis Championship 2021 here at the Punjab Tennis Academy, Bagh-e-Jinnah.
After the inauguration of the event in a colorful ceremony, the PTF chief was introduced with all the participants. He appreciated the hard work of the players and hoped that with hard work and dedication, they can do wonders for Pakistan in international event. PLTA Secretary Rashid Malik (Tamgh-e-Imtiaz) along with top national players and their families were also present on the occasion.
Speaking on the occasion, Salim Saifullah said: “There is a no dearth of talent in sports especially in tennis in Pakistan. We are doing our job by conducting a good number of international tennis events for our junior players, who are the real asset of Pakistan tennis and also sending them abroad to feature in the ATF and ITF junior events. Now it’s up to players to work very hard and produce better results so that they may emerge as top stars and win good name for them and the country globally.”
Total seven matches were played in the men’s singles category on the first day of the championship and all the top players advanced to the second round with comfortable wins. Ijaz Ahmad beat Semi Zeb 6-2, 7-5, Heera Ashiq beat Ahmad Babar 6-4, 6-4, Mahatir Muhammad beat Ahmad Kamil 6-1, 7-5, Asad Ullah beat Israr Gul 7-6(4), 7-5, Talha bin Asif beat Hamid Israr 6-2, 6-1, Ibrahim Omer beat Ayyaz Khan 6-0, 6-3 and Hashessh Kumar beat Zaryab Khan 4-6, 6-2, 6-1.