Sadia wins Roshan Khan Open U19 title

Squash player looks forward to take part in Asian, World Championships.

KARACHI: Fata youngster Sadia Gul reinforced her ambition of becoming a world champion by winning the girls’ U19 title in the Parco 5th Roshan Khan Junior Open, 3-1 against Sindh’s Faiza Zafar at the PN Roshan Khan Jahangir Khan Squash Complex on Thursday.

Sadia won the first game but Faiza levelled the match by triumphing in the next. However, Sadia proved her dominance and superb fitness as the game progressed, thrashing her opponent with scores of 11-9, 8-11, 11-4 and 11-1.

Sadia said she was unhappy with the organisers for not placing her in the preferred U17 category despite repeatedly notifying them through emails.

“I was determined to win this title because the organisers didn’t put me in U17 category,” an elated Sadia told The Express Tribune after her victory.

“This title is a proof of my talent and I believe that if someone has aspirations of becoming a champion, all hurdles whether big or small don’t matter. A lot of negative things have been said about my age, but the double standards in this championship have been astonishing as girls of my age or bigger appeared in the U17 event.”

Sadia further went on to state that she can still represent Pakistan in the U17 category and aims to do well in the Asian and World Championships whether she gets a berth in U17 or U19.

Meanwhile, another talented youngster Madina Zafar – sister of U19 runners-up Faiza – won the U17 title in style by beating Meyral Sheikh in straight sets with a scoreline of 11-4, 11-4 and 11-1 in just 20 minutes. Her sibling Fatima won the U11 title beating Zainab Khan 3-0.

Aiman Shahbaz stunned top seed Noorul Aaain with a 3-1 victory to clinch the U15 title.

Tayyab Aslam won the boys’ U19 title by defeating Israr Ahmed 3-0 while Kashif Asif won in straight sets against Sumaid Rasheed in the U17 final.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 29^th, 2013.

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