Aisam-Aqeel bow out of CWG doubles

Pakistan’s dream of a doubles tennis medal is shattered after their team lose to Australia. And more from the Games.

KARACHI: Pakistan’s dream of a doubles tennis medal in the Commonwealth Games was shattered after Aisamul Haq Qureshi and his partner Aqeel Khan fell at the first hurdle against the Australian pair of Peter Luckzak and Paul Hanley in straight sets.

Expectations were high from Pakistan following Qureshi’s run to the men’s doubles and mixed doubles finals at the US Open but the Australians quashed those hopes with a 7-6, 6-4 win in in two hours and 30 minutes.

“It was disappointing but our players gave their best,” Pakistan’s captain Mohammad Khalid told The Express Tribune. “We were leading 5-4 in the first set but the Australian pair displayed superb performance to bounce back in the match.”

Earlier, Aqeel lost his singles match against England’s Ross Hutchins 6-2, 7-6 to leave Qureshi, who will feature in his second-round singles match today, as Pakistan’s last-remaining medal hope in the tennis event.

Greenshirts off to a convincing win

Pakistan hockey team secured a much-needed boost at the start of the competition with a 3-0 win against Scotland in their opening Pool A match.

Pakistan looked unperturbed as they returned to the venue where they displayed their worst-ever performance in the World Cup, finishing bottom of the 12-team competition. Seniors excelled for Pakistan as striker Shakeel Abbasi and Rehan Butt as well as full-back Mohammad Imran scored the goals that sealed the win.

Pakistan, who finished second in Melbourne four years ago, got a lead through Abbasi in the 20th minute which was doubled by Rehand in the 35th. Imran converted a penalty corner two minutes from half-time to help Pakistan obtain maximum points.

“The seniors deserve praise but it was a team effort as the juniors also performed well in the match,” said manager Khawaja Junaid. “It was a morale-boosting victory because the first match is always very important.”

Pakistan will play their second match against Malaysia today.

Atlas, Mehboob dumped out of squash

Pakistan suffered a huge setback in squash where the country’s top ranked players Aamir Atlas and Farhan Mehboob were dumped out of the Commonwealth Games after losing their third-round matches.

Atlas lost to top-seed Englishman Nick Matthew 3-1 in 50 minutes despite starting positively and winning the first game 12-10. However, Matthew bounced back to win the next three games easily with scores of 11-3, 11-5 and 11-5.

Mehboob, seeded 13th in the event, was beaten by Australia’s Stewart Boswell in straight games with an 11-9, 11-6, 11-8 score-line in 47 minutes.

Haroon crosses first boxing hurdle

Pakistan’s England-based boxer Haroon Khan was off to a winning start in the 52-kilogramme category when he outclassed Tanzania’s Elyas to reach the pre quarter-finals.

Haroon, younger brother of world champion Amir Khan, is making his Commonwealth Games debut led 12-1 when the referee had to stop the fight after his right punch inflicted major damage on his opponent.

“He [Haroon] played better than our expectations. We were not hoping for such an outstanding performance from him on debut,” said team manager Ijaz Farooqui.

Meanwhile, Nisar Ahmed beat Papua New Guinea’s  Peter Micheal  in the 75-kg category.

Shooters finish 6th in Pistol Pair

Pakistan shooting duo of Kaleemullah and Irshad Ali finished sixth in the pistol pair after accumulating 1,068 points in the 10-team event. Kalimullah scored 599 points while Irshad Ali managed 519 points in the competition. Pakistan will now take part in shot-gun and pistol events scheduled on October 7 and 9 respectively.

Pakistan hockey captain Rehan

“We’re pleased that we could start off with a win. We have some tough matches coming up against Australia and India and this win will boost our confidence.”

India badminton player Saina

“These Games may not be that tough but this is a very prestigious tournament in which everyone wants to win. I am looking forward to us winning a few medals.”

Pakistan boxer Haroon

“I trained in England but I am fighting for Pakistan. But I can’t see myself fighting for Pakistan at the London Olympics. That just wouldn’t feel right.”

Published in The Express Tribune, October 6^th, 2010.