Ranking Tennis: Iftikhar, Zahid cause upset in doubles

LAHORE: Rao Iftikhar Ahmed and Rai Zahid on Thursday registered an upset victory against the strong pair of Khurram Khawaja and Asad Niaz to clinch the men’s 65 plus doubles title in the 34th Maple Leaf Cement Pakistan ITF Seniors World Ranking Tennis Tournament being played here at PLTA courts.

The finals of some the major categories will be played today (Friday) at 2.30 pm here at the PLTA courts while Secretary Sports Ehsan Bhutta will grace the concluding ceremony as chief guest. Other notables who will be present at the concluding ceremony will be PLTA Chairman Rao Iftikhar Ahmad, Secretary Rashid Malik, other PLTA officials, players and their families.

The pair of Khurram Khawaja and Asad Niaz was favourite in the men’s 65 plus doubles category and they were keen to lift the title but to their utter surprise, spirited pair of Rao Iftikhar Ahmed and Rai Zahid displayed outstanding tennis skills and techniques during the final and prevailed over opponent in the final to win it by 2-6, 7-5, 10-3 to grab the title. Their victory was highly lauded by the tennis players present on the occasion and especially by former Davis Cupper and PLTA Secretary Rashid Malik, who applauded their dedication and determination, which was major force behind their sensational title triumph.

While in the men’s 35 plus doubles final, brothers from Lahore Talha Waheed (Gas & Oil Pakistan Ltd) and Usama Waheed outpaced the pair of Adeel Ahmed and Mehboob Waheed by 6-3, 6-3 to clinch the title.

It was double delight for Talha Waheed, who, partnering with Muhammad Shakeel, defeated Asher Ali Khan and Fayyaz Khan by 7-6, 7-5 in the men’s 40 plus doubles final to claim another title.

In the men’s 45 plus doubles final, former Davis Cupper and Rashid Malik of ZTBL and Fayyaz Khan outperformed the pair of Asher Ali Khan and Muhammad Shakeel by 6-2, 7-5 to annex the title while in the men’s 70 plus singles final, Pervaiz Bajwa had to struggle hard to beat Naveed Najam by 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 to grab the title.