PESHAWAR: International Kashan Umar, Saqib Umar, Asad Ullah, and Shakir Ullah marched into the next round after securing a first-round victory in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Open Tennis Championship being played at Synthetic Tennis Courts of the Qayyum Sports Complex on Tuesday.
Kashan Umar, a Pakistan No 1 in the U18 category, played well against Shahsawar Khan in the marathon 6-3 and 6-3 battle that lasted for one hour and 25 minutes. Both Kashan Umar, who is also going to play in the US Tennis League, and Shahsawar gave each other a tough fight.
Kashan Umar marched into the victory 6-3 and 6-3. Shahsawar played well and gave some resistance but overall Kashan did not give much time with his excellent baseline smashes and forceful service.
In the second match Saqib Umar, who also represented Pakistan in the Junior Davis Cup, played well against his senior and ITF winning international veteran player Israr Gul in a 6-2 and 6-3 battle. Saqib Umar, a promising junior player, played like a rock against Israr Gul in the marathon one-hour battle witnessed by a capacity crowd including Senior Vice President Dr. Farhat Abbas and DIG Commandant Tourism Police Gul Said Afridi.
The players were also introduced to the chief guest DIG Police and Commandant Tourism Police Gul Said Afridi. In the other matches, Abbas defeated Umar Ahmad by 6-2 and 6-4; Uzair Khan upset international Aqib Umar by 6-3 and 6-4 in a thrilling battle. Both Uzair Khan and Aqib Umar played well.
In the first round of the Men’s singles event. Shakir Ullah defeated Elham Wazir by 6-2 and 6-3, Zalan defeated Salar Khan in the U12 category Junaid defeated Abdullah by 6-2 and 6-2, Salar defeated Ryan Omar by 6-3 and 6-3, Faizan Afridi defeated Hammad by 6-3 and 6-3.
Recently, Davis Cup players Shoaib Khan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa international players Barkatullah, Yousaf Ali, Ejaz Ahmed, Saqib Umar, Aqib Umar, Kashan Umar, Hamza Roman, Hamid Israr, and Uzair Khan are the top-ranking players’ part of the Championship.
The presence of players has also given the junior players a chance to play better and they can further improve their game while it is hoped that the top rank tennis of our province will further develop and get more international rewards for the country and the nation, Umar Ayaz said while welcoming guests present on this occasion.
