LAHORE – Asad Zaman (Ali Embroidery Mills) and Abdur Rehman (AAA Associates) clinched triple crown each in the Sports Board Punjab (SBP) Junior Tennis Championship that concluded here at the SBP Tennis Academy Nishtar Park on Saturday.
In the boys U-18 final, Asad Zaman, student of Coach Rashid Malik, beat Ahmad Raza 8-2 to claim the first title. He completed the brace of the titles, after winning the boys U-18 doubles final, where he, partnering with Hassan Ali, beat M Sohan and Shaheer Khan 6-2. Asad completed the hat-trick of the titles after beating Shaheer Khan 8-1 in the boys U-16 final. The girls U-18 final was won by Bismel Zia, another student of Rashid Malik, as she beat Hajra Suhail 7-6.
Abdur Rehman was another player, who claimed triple crown in the tournament. He first won the boys U-14 final by beating Aalay Hussain 8-3 and then secured brace of titles after downing Bismel Zia 6-4 in the boys/girls U-12 final. He completed hat-trick of titles, when he, partnering with Hajra Suhail (SICAS), beat Aalay Hussain and Ibrahim Sufi 6-3 in U-14 doubles final. In the boys/girls U-10 final, Ayan Shahbaz beat Muhammad Muaz 6-4.
Director General Sports Punjab Dr. Asif Tufail graced the concluding ceremony as chief guest and distributed prizes among the winners and runners-up in the presence of PLTA Secretary Rashid Malik (Tamgha-e-Imtiaz), Director Sports Nadeem Qaisor, players, their families and tennis lovers.
Speaking on the occasion, chief guest Dr. Asif Tufail said: “The Sports Board Punjab has been taking every measure to promote sports among the youth. This junior tennis tournament is evidence of such initiatives. Additionally, SBP is organizing numerous summer sports camps for various games, attracting a large number of young sports enthusiasts. “We will also hold similar tournaments for our juniors and provide them with ample opportunities to showcase their skills and become national champions. Our aim is for them to excel at the international level as well.”
Extending his gratitude to Sports Board Punjab, PLTA Secretary Rashid Malik said: “I am grateful to Advisor to CM Wahab Riaz, Secretary Sports Shahid Zaman, DG SBP Dr. Asif Tufail, and others for making this event a success. I am also thankful to all for announcing the second leg of the SBP High Performance Tennis Training Camp. Such sincere efforts of SBP will surely help Pakistani juniors excel at higher level and win international laurels for Pakistan.”
