Aqeel, Shahzad steals Begum Kulsum ITF Tennis Tournament
Aqeel Khan and partner Shahzad Khan stuns Russian-Ukrainian pair of Anton Chekhov and Alexandr Lebedyn in 3 set match to win the Men’s doubles event while Spaniard Enrique Lopez-Pererz won the singles title of Begum Kulsum ITF Futures Tennis Tournament.
Pakistani duo Aqeel Khan and Shahzad Khan won the second in a row title for this pair as they already won the previous ITF Future Tournament. Pakistani Pair defeated Russian-Ukrainian players in a crunch match by 7-6 (5), 3-6, 10-6. Khans won the first set by 7-6(5) but the Russian-Ukrainian pair came back strongly and won the second set easily by 6-3. In the last set, Pakistani pair once again fought hard to win the third set and the match by the 10-6.
The men’s single title was won by Spanish Enrique who stunned top seed Ivan Nedelko of Russia 7-6 (1), 6-1 to lift the title. After a tough battle in the first set, the Spaniard succeeded in downing his opponent by 7-6 (1) while in the second set Enrique never allowed the Russian to play freely and took it 6-1.
Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Zafar Iqbal Jhagra, Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) Minister Riaz Pirzada, PTF President Salim Saifullah Khan, Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Pakistan Ali Alizada, PSB DG Akhtar Ganjeera, diplomats and high-profile dignitaries also witnessed the match and appreciated PTF for conducting such a tournament in short time and also applauded the players for displaying splendid game.
The PTF president Salim Saifullah said 25 foreign players including India participated in the tournament. He added that PTF is planning to hold six international tournaments next year in Pakistan and out of 3 will be held in Lahore. Chief Guest Zafar Iqbal Jhagra congratulated PTF chief for holding international tennis event and also applauded government and all its functionaries especially the Law Enforcement Agencies, the IPC ministry and media for their efforts to hold the international tennis tournaments in a befitting manner.
Following are the results
Men's Doubles - Final
| 1 | Aqeel Khan/Shahzad Khan | def. | Anton Chekhov and Alexandr Lebedyn | 7-6 (5), 3-6, 10-6 |
Men's Singles - Final
| 1 | Enrique Lopez-Pererz (Spain) | def. | Ivan Nedelko (Russia) | 7-6 (1), 6-1 |
