Pakistan is hosting an international tennis tournament after 11 years, with players from Malaysia and Sri Lanka competing in the event.
Omer is confident the event will set a strong precedent for future international events in the country. “There is always potential in our region,” Omer told The Express Tribune. “There are good players out there; all they need is the exposure. I believe that this event will have good results. This is just the beginning, and hopefully in the future we’ll see more countries coming to Pakistan.”
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Meanwhile, 11-year-old Malaysian player Yi Shen, who made his international debut in this event but lost out to Sameer Ahmed 6-3, 6-2 in the first round, wants to come back to the country if another opportunity presents itself.
“I enjoyed it here; the food is good and it was a good tournament,” said Shen. “I will come back to Pakistan in the future as well.”
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Meanwhile in Monday’s matches, Sameer Areejo defeated Ghufran Faiz 6-2, 6-0, Sri Lanka’s Yanishkhe Coorey outclassed Syed Mohammad Ahmed 6-0, 6-1, Nalain Abbas crushed Zalan Khan 6-0, 6-0 whereas Sami Zeb, Rayyan Jawed and UK’s Muhammad Saeed also registered wins in the first round.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 15th, 2016.
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