Rahim, Raheela win table tennis titles

KARACHI: Abdul Rahim of WAPDA defeated his teammate Mohammad Rameez 4-3 in the final to win men’s singles title of the World Table Tennis Day Master’s Cup at Hamidi Hall in Pakistan Sports Complex, Islamabad on Friday.
Raheela Kashif of Habib Bank Limited (HBL) wore the women’s singles crown after she outgunned Ayesha Iqbal of WAPDA 4-2 in the final.
Rahim-Ramiz clash turned out to be an epic battle with both giving tough time to each other.
After losing the first set 10-12, Rahim fought back strongly and won the second set with a convincing 11-4 margin.
But Ramiz, who belongs to Swat, showed a lot of resolve in the next two sets and won them 11-3 and 11-7 to take 3-1 lead.
Rahim bounced back and won the next three sets 11-9, 11-8 and 13-11 to seal a superb victory.
The score was 10-12, 11-4, 3-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-8 and 13-11.
Raheela used her fine skills to overcome experienced Ayesha with enviable ease.
After losing the first set 7-11, Raheela bounced back strongly and took the next two sets 11-4, 11-7 to gain 2-1 lead.
Ayesha brought parity with an 11-8 victory in the fourth set to make it 2-2.
But Raheela had other plans as she kept her nerves and won the next two sets 16-14 and 11-8 to complete the title victory.
The score remained 7-11, 11-4, 11-7, 8-11, 16-14, 11-8.
The men’s team event title went to Railways who defeated WAPDA 3-2 in the final.
HBL maintained their dominance when they ousted WAPDA 3-0 in the final to win the women’s team event crown.
The event was sponosored by Oil and Gas Development Company Limited.
Federal minister for inter-provincial coordination Riaz Hussain Pirzada distributed prizes.
The event was organised by Punjab Table Tennis Association with the collaboration of Pakistan Table Tennis Federation.
Results: Men’s singles final: Abdul Rahim (WAPDA) bt Mohammad Rameez (WAPDA) 4-3 (10-12, 11-4, 3-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-8, 13-11), Women’s singles final: Raheela Kashif (HBL) bt Ayesha Iqbal (WAPDA) 4-2 (7-11, 11-4, 11-7, 8-11, 16-14, 11-8), Men’s team event final: Railways bt WAPDA 3-2
Salam Virk (Railways) bt Mohammad Rameez (WAPDA) 3-0, Asim Qureshi (WAPDA) bt Yasir Bhatti (WAPDA) 3-0, Saleem Abbas (WAPDA) bt Masood Ali (Railways) 3-1, Salman Virk (Railways) bt Asim Qureshi (WAPDA) 3-1, Yasir Bhatti (Railways) bt Mohammad Rameez (WAPDA) 3-1, Women’s team event final:
HBL bt WAPDA 3-0: Ghalia Mohsin (HBL) bt Sanum Yaseen (WAPDA) 3-0, Shabnum Bilal (HBL) bt Ayesha Iqbal (WAPDA) 3-1, Raheela Kashif (HBL) bt Sadia Falak (WAPDA) 3-0.