BIRMINGHAM: Pakistan’s badminton players Murad Ali and Irfan Bhatti will face the Indian pair in the pre-quarterfinal round of Men’s Doubles in the Commonwealth Games after the duo beat South African opponents by 2-0, here on Thursday.
Irfan and Murad achieved a sensational win in the Badminton men’s Doubles round of 32 match against Jarred Elliot and Robert Summers of South Africa and qualified for the next round.
The Pakistani duo outclassed the opponents by winning two straight sets with scores of 21-19 in the first and 21-17 in the second set.
They will now compete against the Indian pair of Rakireddy Satwik Sairaj and Shetty Chirag Chandrashekhar today in the Badminton Doubles round of 16.
The win gave the Pakistani camp a moment to cherish after the dismal outcomes in the Badminton Singles matches.
Irfan Bhatti lost his match in the Men’s Singles round-of-32 against Malaysia’s Tze Young NG by 21-10 and 21-9.
Murad also failed to make an impression in singles competition as he was dominated by Singapore’s Jia Heng Teh by 14-21 and 16-21.
In Women’s Singles, Mahoor Ali, Pakistan’s top-notch female badminton player, retired hurt in the second set after dominating the first set with a score of 22-20, letting his Indian opponent to win the game.
Ghazala Siddique, on the other hand, lost to Jamaica’s Tahlia Richardson in the round of 32.
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LAHORE: The Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) has reportedly sidelined the national badminton team from the Pakistani contingent for the forthcoming Commonwealth Games 2022.
The President of the Pakistan Badminton Federation (PBF) Syed Wahaj Ali revealed that the four-member badminton squad, initially part of the contingent, has been removed by the PSB without an explanation.
“PSB failed to provide an explanation for the removal. This is a mistreatment of the players, and the federation lacks the resources to sponsor it,” Wahaj stated.
“Pakistan Badminton Federation will contact Pakistan Olympic Association about the issue,” he added.
Pakistan Olympian Mahoor Shahzad, on the other hand, also opined on the incident and termed it unfair.
“It’s quite unfair on the part of PSB to isolate the only sport at the very last moment when everything was finalized including visas and a training camp. Such gestures by PSB will have an adverse effect on growth and development of Pakistan badminton,” Mahoor wrote on her Instagram.
It is pertinent to mention here that the four-member badminton team was comprised of Mahoor, Ghazala Siddique, Murad Ali, and Irfan Saeed.
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Karachi: Mahoor Shahzad has made history as she has become the first-ever badminton player from Pakistan to qualify for Tokyo Olympics, Pakistan Badminton Federation (PBF) said on Tuesday.
“This is indeed a result of her endless efforts and hard work that she has been selected to participate in the prestigious event,” President of PBF Nisar Ahmed Shahwani and Secretary General PBF Wajid Ali Chaudhry said in a joint statement.
With the support of PBF, she was selected in the Asian Olympics program of Badminton Asia that helped her improve her world ranking, enabling her to earn a spot in the event, they said.
“We wish her best of luck and especially thank to Lt. Gen (R) Syed Arif Hasan, President Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) and Muhammad Khalid Mehmood, Secretary General POA for their endless support,” they added.
On the other hand, Mahoor is excited to represent Pakistan in Tokyo Olympics. “My greatest wish has come true, I am very thankful to Almighty Allah.”