Pakistan qualify for ITF U14 World Jr finals
Pakistan U14 players made history by booking a place in the World Group Junior Tennis Team (WJT) Championship final after impressing in Kuching, Malaysia where they played the Asia/Oceania qualifier. The last time a team qualified for the World Finals was in 1996.
The players included Hamza Roman, Abubakar Talha, and Amir Muhammad Khan Mazari as well as the captain, Davis Cupper, Heera Ashiq and decisive wins over Hong Kong in the semifinals and Australia in the quarterfinals. Talha defeated Wong Selyn Tsz Yuen 6-3,6-2 in the first singles match of the semifinals to take the lead, but Roman lost to Tam Sin Hang 6-1,6-1 in a 1-1 draw.
However, both Talha and Roman secured a 7-5(5), 6-4 win in doubles over Fu Wang Choi and Hang. They brilliantly won games from Iran and Indonesia and lost to Japan to finish second in the group. The team confirmed their place in the finals after winning the quarter-finals by beating Australia 2-1.
The team will face Japan on April 1 for the top spot while South Korea and Hong Kong will battle it out for third and fourth place. Of the 16 participating countries, the list includes Australia, Japan, South Korea, India, Iran, Thailand, Kazakhstan, Hong Kong, Uzbekistan, Chinese Taipei, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Singapore, India and Pakistan.
From the Asia/Oceania qualifiers, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and Pakistan have already confirmed their spots in the WJT finals scheduled for August 7-12 in Prostejov, Czech Republic. The last time Pakistan junior team qualified for the final was in 1996 which included Nomi Qamar, late Ejaz Ahmed, Shahzeb Niazi and Rashid Ahmed Malik as team captains.
“President of the Pakistan Tennis Federation Salim Saifullah Khan and the administration send heartfelt congratulations to the captain, players, parents and coaches and wish them success in the future, as well as in the 2013 Group Tournament. worldwide in the Czech Republic. And [the tournament] will feature 16 of the best U14 teams in the world, providing a fantastic opportunity for our players to play against the best from all ITF world zones,” read a press release on Friday . . . .
