Sharoz Khan reaches high jump final

LAHORE: Pakistan’s high jumper Sharoz Khan on Monday blasted his way into the October 4 men’s high jump final while squash players were eliminated in both men’s and women’s singles of the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou.

In archery too Pakistan’s Israr-ul-Haq and Nighat Naheed were eliminated. Pakistan’s top badminton players Murad Ali and Hafiz Irfan Saeed Bhatti took a fine start in the men’s doubles event.

Athletics: Pakistan’s promising high jumper Sharoz Khan qualified for the final with his personal best 2.10 metre jump. According to rules those who manage 2.26 metre or the 12 best performers qualify.

Sharoz finished seventh in Group A while overall ended 12th out of 16 athletes and made it to the October 4 final. Meanwhile, in the men’s 800m heats Waqas Akbar failed to qualify for the final despite recording his season’s best time of one minute and 52.99 seconds.

He finished sixth in his heat and ended overall at the 14th spot out of 21 athletes with one having failed to finish the race. First two in each heat and next two fastest were to qualify for the final.

Abid Razzaq also flopped when he finished 18th out of 20 athletes in the men’s 400m hurdles heats by clocking 51.51 seconds. He finished sixth in his heat, carrying seven athletes.

Squash: It was a poor day for Pakistani squash players at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre. The country’s premier player Nasir Iqbal faltered in the round of 16 when he was undone by Abdulla Altamimi of Qatar 3-0 with the set score being 11-9, 11-8, 11-6.

Meanwhile, Mohammad Asim Khan also lost his round of 16 show when he was downed by Abdullah Almezayen of Kuwait 3-2 with the game score being 11-4, 1-11, 11-8, 8-11 and 11-4.

In the women’s singles round of 16, Noor-ul-Ain was conquered by Subramaniam Sivasangani of Malaysia 3-0 with the set score being 11-3, 11-2, 11-1.

Noor-ul-Huda also lost her round of 16 clash 3-0 against Hong Kong’s Lok Tze Ho with the set score being 11-2, 11-4, 11-5.

In the mixed doubles Pakistan faced mixed fortunes. In Pool A Japan 1, carrying Risa Sugimoto and Tomotaka Endo, defeated Pakistan’s pair of Mehwish Ali and Noor Zaman 2-0 with the set score being 11-8, 11-6.

In the mixed doubles Group D Hong Kong 1, featuring Wing Tsz Tong and Hong Ming Tang, whacked Pakistan 1, carrying Sadia Gul and Farhan Zaman 2-0 with the set score being 11-1, 11-6.

In the mixed doubles Group D, Pakistan 1 conquered Thailand 2 2-0 with the set score of 11-9, 11-10. Sadia Gul and Farhan Zaman represented Pakistan while Ananthana and Arkaradet represented Thailand 2.

Badminton: At the Binjiang Gymnasium, Pakistan’s top shuttlers Murad Ali and Hafiz Irfan Saeed Bhatti made a fine start when in the men’s doubles round of 32 they defeated Mongolia’s pair of Enkhbat Olonbayar and Erdenebayar Enkhbold 2-0 with the game score being 21-18, 21-14.

In the women’s singles round of 64, Pakistan’s Ghazala Siddique was eliminated when she was whacked by Malaysia’s Wei Jin Goh 2-0 with the set score being 21-10, 21-4.

Archery: At the Fuyang Yinhu Sports Centre Qualification Field, Pakistan’s Israr-ul-Haq and Nighat Naheed were eliminated. In the men’s recurve individual 1-32 elimination, Israr-ul-Haq lost to Mongolia’s Gantugs Jantsan 6-2. Nighat Naheed went down to Uzbekistan’s Ziyodakhaon Abdusattorova 6-0.