KARACHI: Pakistan secured important victories in tennis and recorded praiseworthy performance in shooting discipline on Sunday in the ongoing Asian Games 2023. In the games being held in Hangzhou, China Pakistan’s GM Bashir secured the eighth position after scoring 282 points with eight centres off target. Bashir — who needs to finish in the top six to proceed to the finals — recorded 98 points in eight seconds, then 97 in six seconds and 97 in four seconds. The second round of the qualification phase will be played on Monday (tomorrow).

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Mehak Fatima failed to qualify for the next round in women’s 10m air rifle. She finished 40th in the qualifying round. Sarah Ibrahim, Ushna Sohail secure important wins in Tennis On the other hand, Pakistan got off to a flying start in the tennis singles and doubles.

In women’s tennis singles, Ushna Sohail handed a straight-sets defeat to Tajikistan’s Sumaya Tukhtaeva 6-2, 6-3. Another Pakistani tennis player, Sarah Ibrahim emerged victorious against Qatar’s Hind Almudahka after a three-set battle 6-2, 6(5)-7, 6-3. Ibrahim won the first set comfortably 6-2, but Almudahka made a comeback in the second set which lasted for more than an hour and won it after a close encounter 7-6(5). The decisive set was won by the Pakistani player 6-3 after a 51-minute long clash.

Sunday was Pakistan’s day in tennis, after triumphs in women’s singles, Pakistani continued its excellent form and beat Mongolia in straight sets 6-0, 6-1 in mixed doubles. Pakistani duo Sarah Ibrahim and Aqeel Khan who lost to Uzbekistan's Khumoyon Sultanov in men's singles came over Mongolia’s Anand Gankhuyag and Khatansuikh Batbayar and won the tie in just 48 minutes. Setbacks in taekwondo, swimming disciplines In men’s taekwondo, Pakistan’s Aqdas Ullah Qadeer lost to Nepal’s Bahadur Prem Limbu in the first round.

Meanwhile, Pakistan's Naila lost to Japanese athlete Yuiko Niwa in the quarter-final. The Pakistani athlete finished the match with 100.0 points but her opponent qualified for the semi-final with 104.6 points. Earlier, Naila defeated Saudia Arabia’s Medhat Abrar Bukhari in the Round of 16. In swimming, both of Pakistan’s swimmers Mohammad Amaan Siddiqui and Mohammad Ahmed Durrani failed to qualify for the next round. In Men’s 200m individual medley, Durrani’s timing was two minutes and 15.10 seconds, which was enough to create a new national record but he failed to reach the next round. The previous Pakistani record in the 200m individual medley was two minutes and 16.26 seconds. Durrani was 12 seconds behind the last swimmer who qualified for the next round. His final position was 19th out of 27. Meanwhile, Amaan finished 22nd with his timing of two minutes and 18.65 seconds.

Published in The Daily National Courier, September, 25 2023

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