History Created: Father-son pair steals spotlight at Sheheryar Malik Memorial Tennis
History Created: Father-son pair steals spotlight at Sheheryar Malik Memorial Tennis
By Nawaz Gohar ; A remarkable father-son combination stole the spotlight at the 10th Sheheryar Malik Memorial Pakistan Open Tennis Championship as Pakistan No U-18 player Abubakar Talha and his father,
Talha Waheed, stormed into the men's doubles semi-finals with a commanding victory at the Sports Board Punjab Tennis Academy, Nishtar Park, on Wednesday.
The duo produced an impressive performance, overwhelming Omer Babar and Ahtesham Arif 6-0, 6-0 to book their place in the last four and add a special family dimension to the championship. This is a historic achievement at the national level, as no father-son pair has ever before reached the semi-finals of a national tennis tournament in Pakistan.
Meanwhile, the men's and women's singles competitions also witnessed exciting quarter-final action, with Muhammad Shoaib, Yousaf Khalil, Barkat Ullah and Mudassar Murtaza advancing to the men's semi-finals.
Shoaib defeated Abubakar Talha 6-2, 6-3, Yousaf overcame M. Huzaifa Khan 6-2, 6-2, Mudassar beat Heera Ashiq 6-3, 6-3, while Barkat delivered a dominant 6-0, 6-0 victory over Asad Zaman.
In the women's singles, Ushna Sohail secured a convincing 6-0, 6-1 win against Sania Zahra, Esha Jawad defeated Khadija Khalil 6-1, 6-1, Bismal Zia overcame Ayesha Shahid 6-0, 6-1, and Meheq Khokhar beat Fajar Fayyaz 6-2, 6-2 to complete the semi-final line-up.
The men's doubles quarter-finals also saw Muhammad Talha Khan and M. Huzaifa Khan defeat Asad Zaman and Imran Bhatti 6-0, 6-4, while Muhammad Shoaib and Mudassar Murtaza overcame Ahmad Babar and Heera Ashiq 6-1, 6-3.
In the seniors' 45-plus doubles, Mehboob Waheed and Fayyaz Khan recovered from a set down to beat Brig Manzoor and Hassan Mansoor 2-6, 6-3, 10-4. Khurram Imtiaz and Arif Feroze defeated Kamran Qureshi and Dr Arif 6-2, 6-0, while Hadi Hussain and Dr Sohaib overcame Sajid Bukhari and Amjad 6-2, 6-2.
In the 55-plus doubles, Kamran Qureshi and Waheed Chaudhary registered a comprehensive 6-0, 6-0 victory over M. Eesa Jee and Zulfiqar, while Ahsan Razzaq and Col Waqar defeated Col M. Sagir Ahmad and Husnain Mirza 7-5, 6-4.
