KARACHI Fifth seed Sadia Arshad of Wapda pulled off the biggest upset of the tournament when she toppled top seed and defending champion Ayesha Akram of National Bank in three sets to reach women's singles semi-finals of the 52nd National Badminton Championship at the PSB Coaching Centre.
Sadia conceded the opener 17-21 only to storm back and turn the tables on her opponent by taking the next two sets 21-15, 21-18.
'It's a happiest moment of my career as my hard work has paid off,' a jubilant international Sadia told Dawn after emerging victorious.
Sadia said though she had beaten her (Ayesha) once before at Sargodha last year but it was not a ranking tournament.
Applauding Sadia's performance, Ayesha said it was her (Sadia) day and she won.
It may be mentioned that Ayesha had lost to Karachi's upcoming Sara Khan in the final of the last national championship held at Islamabad.
Sadia is now drawn to meet Palwashah Bashir who was home against Uzma Butt 21-13 (retired).
Sara Mohmand and Aneeqa Rana completed the quartet by winning their matches. The former struggled to overcome Farzana Ali 21-15, 16-21, 21-12 while the latter whipped Sumera Arshad 21-7, 21-16.
Meanwhile, Pakistan No 1 and top seed Ahsan Qamar, second seed Umer Zeeshan, third seed Chaudhary Atique and fourth seed Wajid Ali who is also defending champion, made their way into the men's singles pre-finals.
Ahsan inflicted 11-21, 21-19, 22-20 victory over Waqas Ahmed, Umer disposed off Rizwan Azam 21-16, 21-11, Atique routed Hashir Bashir 21-14, 22-20 while Wajid beat Zafar Tasneem 21-11, 21-14.
Results
Men's singles quarter-finals
Ahsan Qamar bt Waqas Ahmed 11-21, 21-19, 22-20; Chaudhary Atique bt Hashir Bashir 21-14, 22-20; Wajid Ali bt Zafar Tasneem 21-11, 21-14; Umer Zeeshan bt Rizwan Azam 21-16, 21-11.
Women's singles quarter-finals
Sadia Arshad bt Ayesha Akram 17-21, 21-15, 21-18; Palwashah Bashir bt Uzma Butt 21-13 (retired); Sara Mohmand bt Farzana Ali 21-15, 16-21, 21-12; Aneeqa Rana bt Sumera Arshad 21-7, 21-16.
Men's doubles pre quarter-finals
Chaudhary Atique and Rizwan bt Hashir Bashir and Danish 21-16, 21-18; Nabeel and Zohaib bt Atif and Ashraf Masih 21-15, 21-17; Waqas Ahmed and Kashif Sulhei bt Waqas zahid and Taimoor 21-13, 21-10; Asadullah Aleem and Tariq Mahmood bt Ali Murad and Harrison Brent 23-21, 21-12; Rizwan Rana and Imran Mohib bt Ahmed and Adnan 21-9, 21-5; Zeeshan and Zafar bt Farhan and Adnan 21-19, 22-20; Ali Yar Baig and Nauman bt Aamir Islam and Tahir Ishaque 21-15, 21-19; Wajid Ali and Ahsan Qamar bt Shahbaz and Ijaz 18-21, 21-9, 21-13.
Women's doubles quarter-finals
Ayesha Akram and Palwashah Bashir bt Aneela and Salima 21-17, 21-16; Aneela and Zahida bt Anam and Iqra 21-5, 21-3; Shahnaz and Saira bt Yasmeen and Sumera 21-7, 21-12; Asma Butt and Uzma Butt bt Nagina and Humaira 21-3, 21-5; Khizra and Sidra bt Mehwish and Salma 22-20, 21-9; Sadia and Aneeqa bt Warda and Saima 21-18, 21-15; Saira and Afshan bt Sumera and Tahira 21-13, 21-10; Sofia and Salva walkover Sara Mohmand and Sara Khan.
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