PESHAWAR: Players from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Army and Punjab have qualified for the finals of the National Junior Badminton Championship being played at Abdul Wali Khan Sports Complex on Sunday.
Fahad Ahmed of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Zain Bajwa of Punjab set up a final showdown after recording victories against their respective rivals in the Boys Under-15 semi-finals.
Fahad Ahmed of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa defeated Malik Ghasif Raza of Army 21-14, 18-21, 21-19 and Zain Bajwa of Punjab defeated Sangeen of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by 21-18, 21-11 to reach the final.
In the first semi-final of the U17 category, Saad Amir of Punjab defeated Asad Gul of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by 21-10, 21-19 while Abdul Manan of Army defeated Ibrahim Rashid of Islamabad by 21-10 and 21-19.
Fahad Ahmad of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa played well against his strong rival Malik Ghasif Raza of Army in the three sets battle, the score was 21-14, 18-21 and 21-19. Both exhibited some attacking smashes in front of the capacity crowd present on this occasion.
In the other semi-final Zain Bajwa recorded victory against Sangheen (KP) by 21-18, 21-11 in a straight set. In the Boys singles U17 Saad Amir and Rai Abdul Manan moved into the final after recording victories.
In the first semi-final Saad Amir of Punjab defeated Usaid Gul of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by 21-10 and 21-9 in a one-sided affair while Rai Abdul Manan (Army) beat M. Ibrahim Rashid (ISB) by 13-21, 21-18, 21-19 in the second semi-final.
In the Girls Singles U-17 Semi Finals both Sumiya Tariq of Army and Ammarah Ishtiaq of Sindh moved to the final after registering victories against their respective rivals in the semi-finals. Sumiya Tariq (Army) beat Ayesha Shafiq (PB) by 21-8, 21-2 and Ammarah Ishtiaq (Sindh) beat Sana Hanif (Sindh) by 21-17, 21-12.
In the Boy Singles U-19 promising and current national junior champion Umer Jhanghir of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa handed an upsetting defeat to Raza Ali of Punjab in the first semi-final and took berth into the final with 2-0 victory, the score was 22-20, 21-14 while in the second semi-final Malik Danyaal (KP) beat Raja Hassan Mujtaba (PB) by 21-17, 22-20, 21-15. So it would be an all Khyber Pakhtunkhwa affair in the National Junior Badminton Championship with Umer Jhangir facing Malik Danyaal in the final.
In the Girls Singles U-19 current national champion Alja Tariq of Balochistan handed a shocking defeat to Umama Usman of Pakistan Army in straight sets semi-final and qualified for the grand final. The score was 21-12, 21-11. In the second semi-final Hadiqa Aftab of Punjab beat Saman Shahzadi (KP) by 21-18, 21-13 and set up a final showdown with Alja Tariq of Balochistan.
In the Girls Doubles U19 Semi Finals Umama Usman (Army) and Deena Shahzad (ISB) beat Sana Hanif and Musfira (Sindh) by 21-14, 21-10 and Sumiya Tariq (Army) and Alja Tariq (Balo) beat Tayyaba Shafiq and Saman Shahzadi (PB) by 21-6, 21-1.
In the Boys Doubles U-19 Semi Finals Afnan Khan and Hamza Khan (KP) beat Abdullah Siddiqi and Fayyaz Ur Rehman (Sindh) by 23-21, 21-11 and Umer Jhanghir and Muhammad Zaid (KP) beat Raza Ali and Saad Amir (PB) by 22-20, 21-17 and qualified for the final.
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