LAHORE: Twenty-eight matches were decided in boys’ under-19 and under-17 categories on the opening day of the PNSC National Junior Badminton Championships at the Punjab Gymnasium here on Saturday.

In under-19 event, only two matches stretched to three games while four contenders moved ahead after getting walk-over.

Abdul Rehman of Punjab was extended to full distance by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Fawad Khan before winning 21-18, 15-21, 21-19 in a well contested match.

Then Sajjad of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa fought hard to beat Punjab’s Usama in another three-set match with a scoreline of 20-22, 21-7, 21-13. After losing the first game closely, Sajjad bounced back by wrapping up two next sets quite easily to move into the second round.

Meanwhile, Moazzam Ali, Umair Maqbool, Syed Daniyal Ali and Mohammad Mashood all received walkovers from theor respective opponents.

Overall, 150 players from across the country representing, Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Islamabad, Fata, Azad Jammu Kashmir, Army, Police, Karachi Port Trust and National Bank of Pakistan are participating in the tournament.

Nahid Gulistan, Director General Parks and Horticu­lture Authority, Lahore inaugurated the championships.

First-round results:

Boys’ singles under-19: Moazam Ali (Punjab) bt Nadir (Balochistan — walkover; Abdul Rehman (Punjab) bt Fawad Khan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) 21-18, 15-21, 21-19; Umair Maqbool (Punjab) beat Usman (Fata) — walkover; Sajjad (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) bt Usama (Punjab) 20-22, 21-7, 21-13; Mohammad Taimur (Punjab) bt Sanullah (Fata) 21-19, 21-18; Muhammad Gondal Baig (Punjab) bt Asjad (Punjab) 21-5, 21-16; Zohaib Khan Khalil (Police) bt Moazam Ali (Punjab) 21-10, 21-10; Sahil Arvand (Balochistan) bt Muhammad Ahmad (Punjab) 21-9, 21-16; Syed Daniyal Ali (NBP) bt Waleed Iqbal (Punjab) — walkover; Mohammad Mashood (Punjab) bt Umair Arshad (Punjab) — walkover; Abu Kalam (Balochistan) bt Hamza Naveed (Punjab) 21-11, 21-11; Abdullah (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) bt Essa Khan (Punjab) 21-14, 21-7; Abdul Basit (Army) bt Hussain Zaib (Punjab) 21-10, 21-7; Mutahir Masood (Punjab) bt Syed Wajih-ul-Hasan (Sindh) 21-10, 21-4; Rohan Haseeb (Punjab) bt Nabeel (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) 21-14, 21-17; Rohail Haseeb (Punjab) bt Anas Tariq (Punjab) 21-10, 21-8; Mohammad Ahmad (Punjab) bt Taimur (Punjab) 21-13, 21-18.

Boys’ singles under-17: Raja Zulqarnain (Punjab) bt Amraiz Khalil (Punjab) 21-14, 21-12; Ziad (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) bt Ali Akbar (Balochistan) 21-12, 22-24, 26-24; Talha Ali (Sindh) bt Saad (Punjab) 21-7, 21-6; Zain Mughal (Punjab) bt Daniyal (Police) 12-21, 21-16, 21-15; Muqsit Amir (Punjab) bt Aziz Khan (Fata) 21-16, 21-12; Mohammad Arsalan (Punjab) bt Amir Sahahzebu (Islamabad) — walkover; Ahmad Masood (Punjab) bt Jahanzeb (Balochistan) 21-5, 21-13; Ahmed (Sindh) bt Amad Khan (Army) — walkover; Yasir Jibran (Punjab) bt Abdul Jalil (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) 17-21, 21-17, 21-16; Imran Ali (Balochistan) bt Abdullah Shafi (Punjab) 19-21, 25-23, 21-18; Hasham Iqbal (Sindh) bt Muneeb Haider (Punjab) 21-18, 21-19.

Published in Dawn, August 20th, 2017