WAPDA, Army to meet in table tennis final today

KARACHI: Defending champions WAPDA and Army blasted their way into the final of the men’s team event of the PTTF Master’s Cup Table Tennis tournament which began at the District Sports Ground Gymnasium in Multan on Friday.

The final will be held on Saturday (today).

In the first semi-final, defending champions WAPDA defeated Punjab 3-0, while Army upstaged Sindh 3-1 in the second.

In the event, which will end on November 13, nine leading women and 11 top men players, are not featuring. “They had not confirmed their entries,” a senior official of Pakistan Table Tennis Federation (PTTF) told ‘The News’.

The women singles champion Shabnam Bilal also missed the competitions. “I think Shabnam did not get NOC from her former department Army. She has joined WAPDA now,” the official said.

Men’s team event results: Sindh bt NHA 3-0: Bilal Tariq bt Shah Khan (3-2) 8-11, 11-5, 12-14, 11-8, 12-10; Aahil Shah bt Arbaz Anwer (3-1) 9-11, 11-7, 11-3, 11-5; Akbar Shah bt Sajid Hussain (3-0) 13-11, 15-13, 13-11.

Men’s team event first semi-final: WAPDA bt Punjab 3-0: Mohammad Rameez bt Arbeel Irshad (3-0) 11-6, 11-6, 11-4; Asim Qureshi bt Ahmed Darrek (3-0) 11-2, 11-4, 11-4; Abdul Rahim bt Muneeb Rehman (3-0) 11-6, 11-5, 11-6.

Men’s team event second semi-final: Army bt Sindh 3-1: Faizan Zahoor bt Bilal Tariq (3-1) 11-7, 8-11, 11-7, 11-5; Salman Saleem lost to Aahil Shah (1-3) 11-13, 11-4, 7-11, 5-11; Obaid Shah bt Akbar Shah (3-0) 12-10, 11-3, 11-8; Faizan Zahoor bt Aahil Shah (3-0) 11-4, 12-10, 11-4.

Men’s singles group league stage: Akbar Shah (Sindh) bt Faizan Laiq (Sindh) 3-1: 11-9, 11-6, 10-12, 11-7. Shujat Ali (WAPDA) bt Hamza Godil (Sindh) 3-2: 6-11, 9-11, 12-10, 11-9, 11-5. Abdul Rahim (WAPDA) bt Abdul Haseeb (Islamabad) 3-0: 11-3, 11-5, 11-5. Danish Ali (Army) bt Basit Ali (NHA) 3-0: 11-7, 11-5, 11-9. Mohammad Arbeel (Punjab) bt Muhammad Ahmed (Punjab) 3-1: 11-4, 11-8, 8-11, 11-7. Obaid Shah (Army) bt Muneeb Rehman (Punjab) 3-1: 11-2, 7-11, 11-5, 11-7. Mohammad Rameez (WAPDA) bt Faizan Zahoor (Army) 3-0: 11-7, 13-11, 11-9. Asim Qureshi (WAPDA) bt Hafiz Zeeshan (WAPDA) 3-1: 11-7, 11-2, 10-12, 11-4. M Afzal (WAPDA) bt Omer Zaka (WAPDA) 3-1: 11-9, 11-5, 8-11, 11-8. Masood Ali (Railways) bt Waqas Ayoub (WAPDA) 3-0: 11-3, 11-5, 11-8. Subhan Qureshi (HEC) bt Mehdi Raza (Sindh) 3-1: 11-8, 11-6, 11-13, 11-7. Arbaz Anwar (NHA) bt Shozeb Raza (WAPDA) 3-0: 11-6, 15-13, 11-9. Shah Khan (NHA) bt Rafiq Sarhadi (NHA) 3-0: 11-8, 11-9, 11-6. Aahil Shah (Sindh) bt Hafeez-ur-Rehman (HEC) 3-1: 11-8, 11-7, 7-11, 11-9. Faryal Minhas (WAPDA) bt Salman Saleem (Army) 3-1: 11-8, 11-6, 12-14, 11-9.