LAHORE    -     Double delight for Muhammad Shoaib as he clinched the Bank of Punjab (BoP) Junior National Tennis Championship 2019 singles and doubles title here at PLTA Courts on Wednesday.

In the U-18 boys final, Shoaib played superb tennis against Ahmad Kamil and outclassed in all the fields to win the final 6-0, 6-2. He also remained phenomenal in U-18 doubles final, as he, partnering with Ahmad Kamil, proved too hot for the pair of Usama Mehmood and Iffam Rana and overwhelmed them 6-0, 6-1 to lift the title.

The U-18 girls saw Shimza Durrab displaying great tennis skills and techniques to outlast Rahat Javed 6-1, 6-2 and claimed the title. The U-14 boys title went to Huzaima Abdul Rehman, who faced some resistance from Bilal Asim before winning the final 6-2, 6-4. The U-14 girls title was won by Maha Said, who outsmarted Labika Durrab 6-1, 6-2.

Haider Ali Rizwan of LGS Paragon, Pakistan No 2 in U-12 category, also stole the show and won the hearts of the spectators by winning U-12 boys singles as well as doubles title. In the U-12 boys singles final, Haider played exceptional tennis against Ehtasham Humayun and outlast him 7-5, 6-0. In U-12 boys doubles final, Haider, partnering with his brother Pakistan U-12 No 1 ranked Hussnain Ali Rizwan, had to struggle hard to overcome spirited pair of Asad Zaman and Ehtasam Humayun 4-2, 1-4, 12-10.

In U-12 girls final, one of the emerging tennis stars of the country Hania Minhas amused the spectators with her outstanding tennis techniques and skills and thrashed Soha Ali 4-0, 4-0. Not only this, Hania completed the brace of her titles by winning U-10 boys/girls title, where she proved too hot for Hamza Ali Rizwan and overpowered him 4-0, 4-2. Hania is being termed the future ladies tennis stars by tennis greats of the country, saying if trained and facilitated well, she has a bright future ahead.

In U-8 category, Abdul Rehman won gold medal, Taha Usmani silver and Afaf Suleman bronze medal. In U-6 category, young tennis sensation Eshal Sajjad continued her medal winning spree as she added 10th gold medal in her gold medals tally. She has great passion and love for tennis and she is trying to create a new record of winning gold medals at junior level. Dalia Sehgal also played well and earned silver medal and Nadine Sehgal bronze.

The clash of titans was also witnessed during the seniors doubles 35 plus final, where the pair of Shehryar Salamat and Osama Waheed displayed quality tennis and overpowered spirited pair of Faisal Anwar and Pervez 7-6, 6-2 to claim the title.

BOP Group Head Nofel Daud graced the concluding day as chief guest and distributed prizes, medals and certificates among the position holders. Other notables present on the occasion were PLTA Secretary Rashid Malik, Senior Vice Precedent Mansoor Warraich, Sports Board Punjab (SBP) officials Shahid Nizami and Raees-ur-Rehman, players, their families and tennis enthusiast.

PLTA Secretary and Tournament Director Rashid Malik (Tamgha-e-Imtiaz) thanked Bank of Punjab for sponsoring the event and hoped that they will continue to support this beautiful game and also the PLTA in promoting this game at grassroots level. “Last year, we conducted record number of tournaments and this year too, we are committed to not only break the previous year record but also find and groom the promising talent in order to provide Pakistan Tennis Federation quality players, who may win laurels for the country at international level.”