Federal Cup tennis championship kicks off

ISLAMABAD: The 37th OGDCL Federal Cup National Ranking Tennis Championships kicked off with an action-packed opening day at the S. Dilawar Abbas PTF Tennis Complex, Garden Avenue, Islamabad.

While most seeded players cruised through their first-round matches in the men’s singles category, a major upset marked the day as unseeded M. Talha Khan of Islamabad defeated 6th seed Abdullah Adnan in straight sets.

Talha Khan dominated the much-anticipated encounter, showcasing maturity and skill beyond his years. He stormed through the first set 6-1 by breaking Abdullah in the 3rd and 5th games.

In the second set, Talha maintained his momentum and form, not allowing his higher-ranked opponent a single game, sealing the match with a commanding 6-1, 6-0 victory. The second most exciting match of the day featured M Yahya against M. Hamza Aasim, also from Islamabad. After dropping the first set 3-6, Yahya bounced back to take the second 6-2.

He was leading 4-1 in the third set when Hamza was forced to retire, giving Yahya the win in a match filled with intensity and grit. Earlier in the day, a formal opening ceremony was held. Uzair Aslam Chaudhary, CEO of Air Blue, graced the occasion as the chief guest. Notable attendees included Tariq Mehmood Murtaza, Chairman, and Majid Bashir, President of the Islamabad Tennis Association.

In the first round of men’s singles, M Shoaib thrashed Ali Abdaar 6-2, 6-1, Huzaima Abdul Rehman smashed M. Taha Khizer 6-0, 6-0, M Yahya won against M. Hamza Aasim 3-6, 6-2, 4-1 (Retd), Barkatullah defeated Abdul BAsit 6-0, 6-2, Yousaf Khalil beat Zohaib Afzal Malik 6-2, 6-2, Ahmad Chaurday overpowered Jabir Ali 6-4, 6-2.

M. Haziq Aasim beat M Rayyan 6-3, 6-4, M. Talha Khan thrashed Abdullah Adnan 6-1, 6-0, Sami Zeb got walkover against Hisashi Izumi, Saqib Hayat beat smashed M. Talha Khan (PES) 6-1, 6-2, M. Huzaifa Khan defeated Waqar Ahmad 6-0, 6-0.

Muzammil Murtaza thrashed Saifullah Khan 6-1, 6-1, M Ali beat Gibran-ul-Haq 6-3, 6-3, Ahmad Nael Qureshi smashed Kamran Khan 6-0, 6-1, M Salar defeated Kashan Tariq 6-0, 6-1, and Aqeel Khan won against Umer Javed 6-0, 6-1.