1st SBP Jr Tennis begins

LAHORE: Punjab Minister for Sports Rai Taimoor Khan Bhatti inaugurated First Sports Board Punjab Junior Tennis Championship 2020 here at Punjab Tennis Stadium Nishtar Park Sports Complex on Wednesday.

PLTA Chairman Rao Iftikhar, President Dr Raheel Siddiqui, PLTA Secretary Rashid Malik, Director Sports Hafeez Bhatti, Deputy Director Shahid Nizami and a large number of young male and female tennis players were also present on this occasion.

The 4-day championship is being organised by Sports Board Punjab in collaboration with Punjab Lawn Tennis Association (PLTA) at two different venues. The league round matches and quarterfinals will be played at PLTA Courts while semifinals and final will be competed at State of the Art Tennis Stadium at Nishtar Park Sports Complex.The main events of the tournament include men's singles, ladies singles, boys U-18, boys U-18 doubles, girls U-18, boys U-16, boys U-14, boys U-12, boys/girls U-10, boys/girls U-8 and boys/girls U-6.

While talking to media, Punjab Minister for Sports Rai Taimoor Khan Bhatti said Pakistan is a fertile country in the field of sports. “Pakistan has produced several world class players in various games. As many as 150 young boys and girls from all parts of Punjab are taking part in this championship. We are working to develop a nursery of young talented players in a bid to regain lost glory in sports”.

Rai Taimoor Khan Bhatti, on this occasion announced to prepare practice tennis pitches adjacent to Punjab Tennis Stadium. “Pakistan’s first ever sports school is also being introduced by our govt. The sports school project will help a lot in honing the talent of players at the young age and it is the suitable way to prepare athletes for major sports events like Olympic Games”.

Results: In men’s singles event, Ahmed Kamil got walk over, while Inam Arif toppled Haram Zahid 6-2, 6-4, Zain Ch defeated Ahtesham Sattar 6-4, 6-3, Rana Humayun got walk over, Mian Bilal got walk over, Imtiaz Riaz got walk over, Aaqib Sabir thrashed Umair Javed 6-0, 6-0, Fayyaz Khan got walk over, Nalain Abbas got walk over, Kamran Qureshi outscored Jahanzaib Ch 6-2, 6-2, Hassan Kamran got walk over, Sikander Hayat got walk over, Zaryab Pirzada outplayed Taha, Jawad Zahid beat Aqif Hussain 7-5, 6-1, Hamza routed Omer Mehdi 6-2, 6-2 and Imran Bhatti got walk over.

Department of Youth Affairs, Sports and Special Education Department sign MoU for welfare of special children: Department of Youth Affairs, Sports, Archeology and Tourism Punjab and Special Education Department Punjab signed an MoU to provide special children free sports facilities, arranging free study tours of historic places besides holding their sports competitions. The MoU signing ceremony was held at Punjab Stadium during a press conference on Wednesday.

Punjab Minister for Sports Rai Taimoor Khan Bhatti and Punjab Minister for Special Education M Akhlaq were guests of honour on this occasion. Secretary Youth Affairs, Sports Punjab Ehsan Bhutta and Secretary Special Education Syed Javed Iqbal Bukhari signed the MoU in the largely-attended ceremony.

While addressing the press conference, Punjab Minister for Sports Rai Taimoor Khan Bhatti said special children are vital part of our society and Punjab govt will utilize all resources to provide best facilities to special children. “Providing all facilities to special children for their welfare is our prime obligation. Our four departments - Youth Affairs, Sports, Archeology and Tourism are available to facilitate and entertain special children all time,” he added.

Bhatti said special children can also use our rest houses in Murree and Kallar Kahar and other relevant facilities free of cost. “We will arrange free of cost sight-seeing tours for special children where our guides will be available to provide proper information about any particular historical and archeological site,” he explained.

“It is our first collaboration with a department and we will sign more such MoUs with other departments. We are also going to make special children events a part of our Annual Sports Calendar activities”.