KARACHI, Feb 22: Top seed Aqeel Khan made it to the men’s singles quarter-finals without playing a match in the Sindh ranking tennis tournament at the CDGK sports complex on Thursday.

After getting first round bye, the Davis Cupper got a walkover against Robin Das in the next round on the second day of the competition. The latter had beaten Faisal Mehmood of Islamabad 6-1, 6-3 on Wednesday.

Das who was present at the venue opted for walkover instead of taking the field.

Aqeel’s younger brothers – second seed Jalil and third seed Yasir – also stormed into the last eight with comfortable ease. Jalil blanked Hussain Jessani 6-0, 6-0 while Yasir beat Adnan Yousuf 6-0, 6-1.

Others who qualified for the quarter-finals were Vinod Das, Rizwan Shamsi, Abbas Raza and Nasir Mushtaq. The winner of Zuhair Raza/Mubashir Afridi will join the above to complete the last eight stage.

Talented Abdul Rehman halted Nameer Shamsi’s winning run handing 6-4, 6-0 defeat to advance in the juniors U-17 semi-finals. Nameer had beaten Mustafa Zaidi in three sets the other day.

Four more walkovers were registered – three in boys U-15 and one in U-13 – in addition to the one in men’s singles.

Prodigy Khwaja Hamza who picked up his maiden National ranking title in boys U-11 last month opened his campaign on a winning note when he disposed off Yousuf Khan 6-0, 6-1 in the boys U-13 category.

Hamza’s contemporary Imran Mooraj was stretched to limits by Uzair Qadir before winning 4-6, 6-0, 6-3.

Results:

Men’s singles (second round):

Vinod Das bt Rana Azmatullah 6-1, 6-1; Jalil Khan bt Hussain Jessani 6-0, 6-0; Rizwan Shamsi bt Ahmed Ejaz 6-2, 6-3; Yasir Khan bt Adnan Yousuf 6-0, 6-1; S. Abbas Raza bt Hassan Ahmed 6-2, 6-0; Aqeel Khan w/o Robin Das; Nasir Mushtaq bt Taimoor Mehmood 7-6(7-2), 6-3.

Juniors U-17 singles (second round):

Hashim Khan bt Muneeb Khan 6-1, 6-2; Abdul Rehman bt Nameer Shamsi 6-4, 6-0.

Men’s doubles (qualifying round):

Shahzaib/Fahim bt Ashad Chaudhri/Konain Qurban 6-0, 6-4.

Boys U-15 singles (second round):

Uzair Abdul Qadir w/o Ibrahim Tawwab; Ashad Chaudhri w/o Omer Shahid; Hashim Khan w/o Noman Khan.

Ladies singles (first round):

Seher Khwaja bt Aysha Mir 6-2, 6-1; Domichi Michico bt Aliya Hai 6-2, 6-0.

Boys U-13 singles (first round):

Adil Kohari w/o Kashif Khan; Imran Mooraj bt Uzair A. Qadir 4-6, 6-0, 6-3; Khwaja Hamza bt Yousuf Khan 6-0, 6-1.

Friday’s fixtures:

Men’s singles (quarter-finals), ladies singles (quarter-finals) 11am; juniors U-17 singles (quarter-finals) 12noon; boys U-15 singles (second round) 2pm; Boys U-13, U-11 singles (first rounds) 3pm.

Opinion

Editorial

Pahalgam attack
Updated 24 Apr, 2025

Pahalgam attack

Pakistan must proceed with caution and prepare a calm yet firm response to India’s allegations, and threats.
New IMF projection
24 Apr, 2025

New IMF projection

THE downgrading of the IMF’s growth forecast for Pakistan by 40bps to 2.6pc is perturbing, especially considering...
Stranded goods
24 Apr, 2025

Stranded goods

AS controversy over the new canals continues to rage, traders across the country have begun raising the alarm over...
Centre’s shadow
Updated 23 Apr, 2025

Centre’s shadow

The Centre should stop encroaching on provincial jurisdictions in its misplaced eagerness to control minerals.
Himalayan crisis
23 Apr, 2025

Himalayan crisis

THE Hindu Kush-Himalayan region, known as Asia’s water tower, is in trouble. The towering ranges have registered a...
Seeker of peace
23 Apr, 2025

Seeker of peace

POPE Francis, who prayed for Palestine, died on Easter Monday. The first Argentine pontiff’s diverse and...