NAZIM PESHAWAR BADMINTON : Hamza off to winning

Bureau report

PESHAWAR: National junior champion Hamza won the openingmatch of the 6th Nazim Peshawar All-Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Men and Women Badminton Championships, which began at the Peshawar Sports Complex on Saturday. Hamza (Peshawar) defeated Usama (Mardan) 21-19, 21-11. In the second match, Shehzad (Peshawar) beat his opponent Usman 21-17, 21-18 while Basit (Swat) recorded win against Kashif (Bannu) 21-19, 21-17. The winners of men and women singles event will be awarded Rs10,000 cash while the runners-up will get Rs7,000 each. Asmany as 150 players from across 17 districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are participating in the event. The finals would be played on December 20. District Government Sports and Culture Committee Chairman Mian Khan was the chief guest on the opening day. KP Badminton Association President Zafar Ali Khan, secretary and international qualified IBA referee Amjad Khan and organising secretary Mian Sadaqat Shah were also present on the occasion.