LAHORE, Jan 27 (APP): Punjab Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs Rai Taimoor Khan Bhatti said on Wednesday that Sports Board Punjab Open Tennis Championship 2021 is an ideal platform for young male and female tennis players to exhibit their potential.
He said this while talking to media at the opening ceremony of the event here at Punjab Tennis Academy Bagh-e-Jinnah.
Director General Sports Punjab Adnan Arshad Aulakh, President Punjab Olympics Association (PbOA) Amir Jan, Secretary General PbOA Idris Haider Khawaja, Director Sports Hafeez Bhatti, Pakistan’s former captain and Davis Cupper Rashid Malik, who is also Tournament Director and a large number of young male and female players were also present on this occasion.
Rai Taimoor Khan Bhatti said it’s our second tennis championship during the last couple of months. “We already organized a tennis championship for junior male and female players at Nishtar Park Sports Complex State of the Art Tennis Stadium,” he added.
He said it is a major tennis event in which around 200 male and female tennis players are featuring. “The game of tennis is growing rapidly among the young generation and Sports Board Punjab, in line with the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan, is extending every kind of assistance for the holding of tennis events in the province. Through our effective efforts, we will produce more top class tennis players like Aisamul Haq”, he asserted.
Punjab Sports Minister also announced a cash award of Rs one lakh for tennis academy on this occasion.
Answering a question about organizing back-to-back sports events, he said: “We are organizing back-to-back sports events to avail this period fully because the fatal Covid-19 has affected several of our sports events during the last one year.”
“Sports Board Punjab’s Junior Initiative Tennis Academy is also working quite effectively at Nishtar Park Sports Complex State of the Art Tennis Stadium where expert coaches are imparting training to 4 to 12 year old boys and girls under the supervision of Rashid Malik at the academy”.
Following are the results:
Men’s singles pre quarter finals:
Ahmad Kamil beat Aakif Hussain 8-1
Hasheesh Kumar beat M Yousaf 8-1
Abdul Hanan Khan beat Hammad Ahmad 8-2
Hassan Riaz beat Ahtesham Arif 8-5
Mahatir Muhammad beat Zaryab Pirzada 8-1
Shaeel Durab beat Faizan Fayyaz 9-7
U-18 pre quarter finals
Faizan Fayyaz beat Asad Akram 6-1
Shaeel Durab beat Muneeb Majeed 6-1
Mahatir Muhammad beat Moavia Butt 6-0
Ahtesham Arif beat Shehryar Anees 8-6
Abdul Hanan Khan beat Zaeem Ghafoor 6-1
Nalain Abbas beat Arman Kamran 8-3
Hasheesh Kumar beat Ghazi Ahmad 8-1
U-14 1st round:
Harris Bajwa beat Talha Tarar 6-2
Haroon Arshad beat Xeerak Mustafa 6-1
Omer Jawad beat Amna Ali Qayyum 6-3
Aized Khalil beat Muneeb Akram 6-2
Ameer Mazari beat Abdul Ahad 6-0.
