Bahawalpur division boys U-16 team shocked Lahore boys by a narrow margin of 3-2 in the closely-fought team event title clash of Under-16 Talent Hunt Programme Inter-Division Table Tennis Championship at Nishtar Park Sports Complex (NPSC) Gymnasium Hall on Thursday.
Lahore team secured second position while Faisalabad division boys’ team finished third in the event being organised under the aegis of Punjab Sports Department as part of Sports Board Punjab's Annual Sports Calendar Programme.
In the final match, Lahore’s Ayyan defeated Talha Tahir (Bwp) by 3-1 (8-11, 14-12, 11-9, 11-7) in the first match while Anas Muneeb of Bahawalpur bounced back and settled the score by defeating Abu Bakar of Lahore by 3-1 (11-8, 11-4, 6-11, 14-12) in the second match. Lahore again took the lead by winning the third match when Zaman outplayed Ayyan Pirzada of Bahawalpur by 3-1 (11-6, 8-11, 11-6, 11-3). Now it is Talha’s turn to level the score for Bahawalpur by toppling Lahore’s Abu Bakar by 3-0 (11-6, 11-7, 16-14). Bahawalpur’s Anas then controlled his nerves and won the title against Lahore’s Ayyan by 3-0 (11-8, 11-8, 11-5).
Director General Sports Punjab Dr Asif Tufail congratulated the winning team and appreciated their fighting game skills. “It is quite heartening to see the deep involvement and dedication of young players in their game. We are pretty hopeful that several of these young lads will represent the country at bigger sports competitions,” he said in a statement on Thursday.
Director General Sports Punjab Dr Asif Tufail further said that the Under-16 Talent Hunt Programme Inter-Division sports competitions are being organized in multiple games with an aim to provide sufficient playing opportunities to the younger generation and unearth fresh sports talent from far-flung areas. “Sports Board Punjab’s Annual Sports Calendar Programme has great significance in the promotion of sports in the province”.
Following are results of U-16 Girls/Boys Singles table tennis matches:
U-16 Girls 2nd round:
Aysha (DGK) bt Shanza (Bwp) 3-1, Abeera (Gujrw) bt Anam Arooj (Fsbd) 3-0, Ishrat (Srgdh) bt Zainab (Fsb) 3-0, Anam (Mult) bt Maha (Swl) 3-1, Abeera (Lhr) bt Qurra-tul Ain (Srgd) 3-0, Mariam Asim (Fsd) bt Hamna (Gujrw) 3-0.
Ist round:
Anam Arooj (Fsbd) bt Uswa (DGK) 3-0, Hamna (Gujrw) bt Anmol Amir (Lhr) 3-2, Haleema (Rwp) bt Aysha (DGK) 3-1.
U-16 Boys 2nd round:
Abu Bakar (Lhr) bt Saad (Mult) 3-0, Ayyan (Lhr) bt Ibraheem (Swl) 3-0, Hamdan (Lhr) bt Huzaifa (Rwp) 3-1, A Rehman (Gujrw) bt Sheebi (Gujrw) 3-1, Nabeel (Swl) bt Rayan (Bwp) 3-0, Zaman (Lhr) bt Huzaifa (Srgda) 3-0.
Ist round:
Anas (Gujrw) bt Umer (DGK) 3-0, Shehroz (Mult) bt Zain (Swl) 3-2, Mohid (Mult) bt Talha (DGK) 3-0, Usman (Rwp) bt Shahnawaz (DGK) 3-0, Umair (Fsb) bt Faseeh (Srgd) 3-0, Huzaifa (Srgd) bt Alman (Srgd) 3-2, Zeeshan (Fsb) bt Aftab (Swl) 3-0, Zaman (Lhr) bt Muheet (Fsb) 3-0.