Ashtifila Arif and Faizan Fayyaz grab two titles each in First SBP Junior Tennis Championship 2020

LAHORE: Director General Sports Punjab Adnan Arshad Aulakh said young players exhibited excellent performance in the First SBP Junior Tennis Championship 2020 and this championship will play an important role in further popularizing the game of tennis in the province; he expressed these views while talking to media at the closing ceremony at State of the Art Nishtar Park Sports Complex Tennis Stadium on Saturday.

Director General Sports Punjab Adnan Arshad Aulakh, who was the chief guest at the prize distribution ceremony, was warmly received upon reaching tennis stadium.

Director Sports Hafeez Bhatti, Deputy Director Shahid Nizami, Assistant Director Riaz Ahmed, PLTA Secretary Rashid Malik and a large number of young male and female tennis players and their parents were also present on this occasion.

Director General Sports Punjab Adnan Arshad Aulakh said it is first event at State of the Art Nishtar Park Sports Complex Tennis Stadium but we will hold all matches of next tennis championship at this venue. “We are going to launch a modern tennis academy for young players where expert coaches will impart training to budding players. Five more practice pitches will also be prepared alongside tennis stadium. We will also invite tennis star Aisamul Haq at future tennis events,” he added.

Director General Sports Punjab Adnan Arshad Aulakh said the construction work will start soon on five practice tennis pitches announced recently by Punjab Minister for Sports Rai Taimoor Khan Bhatti. “Young players from all nine divisions took part in this championship which reflects that tennis is quite popular across the province”.

According to detail, Ashtifila Arif and Faizan Fayyaz excelled in First SBP Junior Tennis Championship 2020 and grabbed two titles each in two different age group categories. In Girls U-18 contest, Ashtifila Arif toppled Aqsa Akram by 6-0, 6-2 while in Girls U-14 event, Ashtifila thrashed the same opponent by 4-1, 4-0. Similarly, Faizan Fayyaz also defeated Hassan Ali in Boys U-18 and Boys U-16 categories finals by 6-3, 10-7 and 6-2, 6-2 respectively. Mian Bilal outplayed Imran Bhatti by 7-5, 6-3 in Men’s singles final competition.

Following are other final results:
Ladies singles:
Noor Malik beat Esha Jawad 6-0, 3-1 (retd)
Men’s singles:
Mian Bilal beat Imran Bhatti 7-5, 6-3
Girls U-18:
Ashtifila Arif beat Aqsa Akram 6-0, 6-2
Boys U-18:
Faizan Fayyaz beat Hassan Ali 6-3, 10-7
Boys U-18 doubles:
Zain Ch & Ifham Rana beat Musa Haroon & Mohammad Ibrahim 0-4, 4-2, 10-8
Boys U-16:
Faizan Fayyaz beat Hassan Ali 6-2, 6-2
Boys U-14:
Ehtesham Humayun beat Asad Zaman 0-4, 4-1, 10-8
Girls U-14:
Ashtifila Arif beat Aqsa Akram 4-1, 4-0
Boys U-12:
Ahtesham Humayun beat Ameer Mazari 8-0
Boys U-10:
Omer Jawad beat Ismail Aftab 8-1
Boys/Girls 8:
Eshal Sajjad gold medal
Fajjar Fayyaz silver medal
Ahmad Asif bronze medal
Boys/Girls U-6:
Eshan Bari gold medal
Mamoon Bari silver medal
Muhammad Ali bronze medal.