Omar Khalid hopes to defend national crown

PESHAWAR: Karachi’s Omar Khalid will be looking to defend the country’s most prestigious golf title when the 61st National Amateur Golf Championship of Pakistan will tee off here at the Peshawar Golf Club from Thursday (today).

Omar, an A levels student at Karachi’s Nixor College, created history early this year when he became the youngest ever national champion in Pakistan’s golf history. Omar won the 60th National Amateurs by a big margin of five strokes at the Karachi Golf Club when he was only 16 years old.

He will now be hoping to repeat that emphatic triumph but will need to give his best to have a go at the coveted title in the presence of the country’s top-ranked amateurs. Among the leading contenders will be Pakistan No. 1 Umer Khokhar and Salman Jahangir, the duo who recently represented the country in the Asia Pacific Amateur Championship. Also in the hunt will be Rawalpindi’s Ralfay Raja, Salman Khan, Qasim Khan and Peshawar’s Hamza Khattak among others.

Omar’s fellow golfers from Karachi – Yashal Shah and Saim Shazli – will also be fancying their chances in the four-day championship.

In the ladies’ category, Lahore’s Rimsha Ijaz will be a hot favourite to retain the ladies title. Other leading contenders include her sister Parkha Ijaz, Humna Amjad and Anya Farooq.

Alongside the National Amateurs, the National Inter-Association tournament will also be taking place at the Peshawar Club. Last year’s champions Sindh Golf Association (SGA) team will be hoping to retain the amateurs team title. The SGA team includes Omar Khalid, Yashal Shah, Saim Shazli and Hamza Shikoh Khan. Sindh has also featured a strong team in the seniors’ team match with Khurram Khan, Azhar Abbas, Ahmed Jamil Siddiqui and Col Mansoor Akram in the squad.

Other competing teams in the Inter-Association contest are Punjab, KPK, Balochistan and Federal Golf Association. The National Amateurs will conclude on Sunday.