Asim, Shabnam clinch 54th National Table Tennis Championships titles
Pakistan’s top seeds Asim Qureshi and Shabnam Bilal recaptured men’s and women’s singles titles, both for 6th time, in the 54th Jubilee Insurance National Table Tennis Championship which concluded at the Islamia Club’s Majeed Khan Gymnasium.
The top seed Asim Qureshi beat second seed and much younger Mohammad Rameez Khan 11-9, 6-11, 5-11, 11-2, 11-7, 11-7 in the best of seven final that fell short of expectations. Asim became the only player to win a triple crown, having captured the men’s team event and mixed doubles titles earlier.
Pakistan No 1 and the top seed Shabnam Bilal beat second seed Ayesha Sharjeel 11-6, 11-8, 11-9, 11-5 in the straight women’s singles final of jubilee General Insurance 54th National Table Tennis Championships 2018 and becomes 6th time women’s National Champion.
Asim Qureshi and Shabnam Bilal seals the titles for the sixth time. Commissioner Karachi Ejaz Ahmed Khan, who graced the finals, gave away the medals and trophies. Also present on prize distribution ceremony were Pakistan Table Tennis Federation (PTTF) president S. M. Sibtain, president of Islamia Club and an avid golfer Asad I. A. Khan, Karachi Table Tennis Association (KTTA) chairman Jawaid Hayat, secretary Tauqeer Mujahir, Sindh Table Tennis Association (STTA) president Azher Khursheed, secretary Saleem Ahmed, PTTF provincial vice-president (Punjab) Irfanullah Khan, PTTF provincial vice-president (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) Shahzad Islam, sports philanthropist Dr Farhan Essa, former internationals Sohail Hayat, Arif Khan. Arif Nakhuda, Rubina Arif, Seema Kaleem, Nazo Tahir, Perween Makhdomi and Noor Jehan.
