Pakistan on course for clean sweep

Sub-par foreign players no match for locals

KARACHI: Pakistan is set for a clean sweep in the Pakistan International Badminton Series, which is being held at Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) Sports Complex’s Liaqat Gymnasium, as the finalists in almost all the events are local players, with the only exception being mixed doubles, where one pair is of Nepali players.

In the mixed doubles semi-finals, Nepal’s Ratnajit Tamang and Nangsal Tamang defeated Pakistan’s Rizwan Alam and Sara Mohmand 21-17, 21-15, while in the other semi-final Muhammad Irfan Bhatti and Mehmoona Ameer defeated Murad Ali and Saba Rasheed 21-18, 16-21 and 16-1.



In women’s doubles event, Sidra Hammad and Khizra Rasheed dumped Ghazala Siddique and Javaria Tahir 21-18, 21-18 and were joined in the final by Palwasha Bashir and Saima Manzoor, who overcame Sara Mohmand and Mahoor Shahzad 21-15 and 21-9.

In men’s singles semi-finals, Bhatti defeated Syed Shabbar Hussain 21-9, 21-9 before Rizwan Alam ousted Muhammad Muqeet Tahir 21-13, 21-8 in the event’s other last-four fixture.



The women’s singles semi-finals were also dominated by Pakistani players as Mahoor Shahzad beat Saba Rasheed 21-14, 21-10 and Palwasha defeated Nepal’s Nangsal 21-16, 21-12 to set up another all-local final.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 21^st, 2016.

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