Sports Bulletin

By Abdul Jabbar Faisal ISLAMABAD (December 16, 2019):-The 5th Benazir Bhutto National Tennis Championship kicked off here at Islamabad Tennis Complex (ITC) G-6/4 on Monday. All top seeded players of main draw moved into next round after beating their rivals. As many as 185 players from all over the country are participating in different categories of the national tennis fixture that has one million rupees prize money.   Results: Men’s Singles (Round-I): Aqeel khan beat Faizan Fayaz 6-1, 6-1 Sami Zeb beat Shakir ullah 6-3, 6-0 Israr Gul beat Danish Ramzan 6-2, 6-3 Asan ullah beat Ejaz Khan 6-1, 6-3 Heera Ashiq beat Ayaz Khan 6-0, 6-2 Mohammad Shoiab beat Farhad Ali Raza 6-1, 6-0 Muzzamil Murtaza beat Saqib Hayat 6-3, 6-4 Aman Atiq beat Shaheen Mehmood 6-1, 6-1 Muddassar Murtaza beat Jibran ul Haq 6-2, 6-3 Huzaifa Abdur Rehman beat Ahmed Baber 6-0, 6-0. Men’s Doubles (Round-I): Amed baber/Saqib hayat beat Ahmed Kamil/Nauman Aftab 3-6, 6-3, 11-9 Rashid Malik/Sikandar Hayat beat Danish Ramzan/Asad Bachani 6-0, 6-2 Shazad Khan/Ahmed Choudhry beat Shakir ullah/Asad Ullah 6-0, 6-0   Heera Ashiq/Yousaf Khalil beat Shahid Afridi/Shaheen Mehmood 7-5, 6-4 Mohammad Shoiab/Huzaifa Abdul Rehman beat Khursheed Abbasi/Aman Atiq bt 6-1, 6-2 Muzzamil Murtaza/Muddassir Murtaza beat Ejaz khan/Barkat ullah 6-3, 1-6, 10-4 Col Shahid/Usman Ejaz beat Muhammad Minhas/Ibrahim Omer 4-6, 6-4 10-8. Boys/Girls U-10: Haider Ali Rizwan w/o Hammad Shah Mohammad Haziq Asim beat Sameer Maqsood 4-2 4-0 Asad Zaman W/o Jamal Shah Haniya Minhas beat Mahnoor Farooqi 4-0, 4-0 Lala Rukh Sajid bt Awais Ali 4-1, 4-1.

PTF nominates Gul Rehman only official for Davis Cup Tie By Abdul Jabbar Faisal ISLAMABAD (November 22, 2019):-President, Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) Salim Saifullah Khan on Friday nominated Gul Rehman solitary official for upcoming Davis Cup Tennis Tie against traditional foes India. International Tennis Federation (ITF) has shifted this mega event from Pakistan to a neutral venue, as this will be played at Nur-Sultan Kazakhstan   In the backdrop of the decision of the Independent Tribunal of the ITF, UK, upholding the decision of the Davis Cup Committee, of November 2, 2019, on the appeal by the PTF challenging the Davis Cup Committee's decision, the senior players of the national team had decided not to play the tie against India at a neutral venue, due the unfair and high-handed behavior displayed by the Indian team to avoid coming to Islamabad despite the many other international teams and celebrities having visited during earlier weeks.  Respecting and supporting the stand of the senior players, yet obliged to participate in the Davis Cup, as a member of the ITF, the President of the PTF, Salim Saifullah Khan, directed the PTF to nominate three best juniors, and a couple of the best young transition players, with an eye on their potentially being top Pakistani players in the next 2 to 3 years, to select a 3 member team to play the tie, now to be held in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, on 29 and 30 Nov, with both Pakistan and India being visiting nations, so Pakistan retaining the choice of Home Tie for the next time the 2 countries play one another.  President PTF and the Selection Committee picked up the 2 top juniors of the country and the best transition player to make the team.  Huzaifa Abdul Rehman, Shoaib Khan, and Yousaf Khan Khalil would be the part of national tennis team against India. While secretary PTF Gul Rehman will visit along with the team as manager.  The PTF President, while expressing serious disappointment on the behavior of the AITA, wished the best to the team of youngsters, advising them to make most of the experience without worrying about winning or losing to the top players India will be fielding.

SB Report ISLAMABAD-A delegation of Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF), comprising Mr. Salim Saifullah Khan, President PTF, Senator Dilawar Abbas Vice President Asian Tennis Federation (ATF) and Tariq Murtaza, President Islamabad Tennis Association (ITA), will be visiting Bangalore, India, to attend the Annual General Meeting of ATF, which will be taken place at Bangalore, India, from November 29 to December 1, 2019. The President PTF, while commenting on the ATF AGM said, "Pakistan delegation is proceeding to India, because we feel that sports should be above the politics and in this spirit the Indian Davis Cup Tennis team should visit Islamabad for the Davis Cup Tie between Pakistan and India at the end November 2019.The Indian team would be provided all possible hospitality and security during the visit. The security arrangements of PTF have already been approved by ITF requirements. We have already hosted several Davis Cup teams during the past two years and the arrangements were highly appreciated by ITF Officials who visited Islamabad supervising the ties, " he maintained. It is pertinent to mention here that the current visit of the members of Royal family of United Kingdom and this clearly signified that the security situation in the country is of high standard. 

Our Sports Reporter ISLAMABAD-Salim Saifullah Khan, President Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) visited PTF Tennis Complex Islamabad today to witness the Junior Tennis Initiative Program where student from Schools participated in the training under the JTI National Coordinator Hamid Niaz, NDD PTF/Head coach of NTC Asim Shafik, NTC Assistant coach Azim Khan and Regional JTI Coordinator Masood Abbasi. He interacted with the students undergoing the JTI introductory training session. The students also took photographs with the President PTF, who appreciated their interest in the game of Tennis which is very essential besides generating healthy activities but also building of character and leadership traits of the students. The President also witnessed some matches being played at the ITA-SNGPL ITF PAKISTAN JUNIOR TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS-2019 and interacted with the foreign players and their parents/coaches. The foreign players and their parents showed great satisfaction on the conduct of the event and also the state of the art courts. They said that they have been extended all possible hospitability by the Pakistanis and they feel at home.