LAHORE, 10th Oct 2023: The Sheheryar Malik Memorial Pakistan Open Tennis Championship 2023 was formally inaugurated here at the Sports Board Punjab Tennis Academy, Nishtar Park on Monday.
PLTA Secretary Rashid Malik (Tamgha-e-Imtiaz) and Additional Secretary Sports Punjab Nabeela Irfan graced the opening ceremony as chief guests and jointly inaugurated the prestigious tournament during a colourful opening ceremony held here. Expressing his thoughts on this significant occasion, Rashid Malik shared the importance of this national event, which is held annually in memory of his late son, Sheheryar Malik, a talented tennis player in his own right. “This tournament holds a special place in our hearts, as it commemorates my son Sheheryar’s tennis legacy. It has grown into one of the country’s major tennis competitions, and my goal is to elevate it to international status in the near future.”
Malik expressed his heartfelt gratitude to Advisor to the Chief Minister of Punjab on Sports, Wahab Riaz, as well as to the Secretary of Sports & Youth Affairs Punjab, Shahid Zaman, and the entire team led by Director General Sports Punjab, Dr Asif Tufail, for their support in organizing the Sheheryar Malik Memorial event. He also extended his thanks to Mr. Mareck, Managing Director of Metro, Moosa Quershi from TS Builders, Haroon Sheikh, Director of Service, Zain Shabbir, Director of Starpak, Nadeem Atta, CEO of Kohat Cement, Babar Monnoo, Hassan Said and other prominent individuals and tennis enthusiasts for their wholehearted support.
On Monday, more than 40 matches were played on the first day of the championship and all the top players advanced to the second round with easy wins. In the men’s singles 1st round, Aqeel Khan beat Zaid Mujahid 6-2, 6-3, M Salaar beat Faizan Fayyaz 6-2, 6-4, Abdullah Adnan beat Hamid Israr 6-0, 3-6, 6-2, Baqir Ali beat Israr Gul 6-2, 6-3, Heera Ashiq beat Fayyaz Khan 6-1, 6-0, M Abid beat Asad Ullah 6-1, 6-1, Mahatir Muhammad beat Hammad 6-0, 6-0, Imran Bhatti beat Sikandar Hayat 6-2, 6-4, M Shoaib beat Hamza Roman 6-0, 6-1, Hasheesh Kumar beat Suleman Junaid 6-2, 6-2, Barkat Ullah beat Shehzad Khan 6-1, 6-1, Yousaf Khalil beat Saqib Hayat 7-6, 6-4, Mudassar Murtaza beat Omer Mania 6-2, 6-1, Ahmad Babar beat Uzair Khan 5-0, rtd.
In the boys U-16 1st round, Asad Zaman beat Abdullah 6-1, 6-0, Ahtesham Humayun beat M Uzair 6-0, 6-0, Ahmad Sheikh beat Abdur Rehman Pirzada 7-5, 2-0 (rtd), Abdul Basit beat Suhaib 6-0, 6-0, Shehryar Anees beat Shaheer Khan 6-2, 6-0, M Talha Khan beat M Hussain 6-0, 6-0, Umar Jawad beat Hassan Alam 6-0, 6-0, Amir Mazari beat Essa Fahad 6-0, 1-0 (rtd), Abdullah Pirzada beat Hanzla Anwar 6-1, 6-0.
In the boys U-14 1st round, Amir Mazari beat Anees Khan 4-0, 4-0, Eesa Fahad beat Aliyan Ali 5-3, 4-2, Junaid Khan beat Moazam Babar 4-0, 4-1, Abdur Rehman beat M Rehan 4-0, 4-9, Omer Jawad beat Abdullah 4-0, 4-0, Ansari Ullah beat Ali Bachani 4-1, 4-1, Syed MahadShehzad beat M Umar Ali 4-1, 4-1.
Reference Link: https://www.nation.com.pk/10-Oct-2023/sheheryar-malik-memorial-pakistan-open-tennis-c-ship-inaugurated
