Pak TT squad leaves for India today

KARACHI: Pakistan table tennis squad on Monday got Indian visas and will proceed to Delhi on Tuesday (today) to feature in the South Asian Cadets and Juniors Table Tennis Championship which will be held from June 17 to 19.
“We have got visas and have collected our passports and InshAllah will leave for Delhi tomorrow via Wagah border,” a senior official of Pakistan Table Tennis Federation (PTTF) told ‘The News’ on Monday.
“We have also got an NOC from the Pakistan government,” the official added.
Gujar Khan-born Maria Khan skipped the event after her mother received serious burn injury the other day.
Pakistan also dropped four boys from the touring party and they are set to leave for China on June 22 to take part in the ITTF Junior Circuit starting from June 23.
They include Afzal Ahmed, Mohammad Arbeel, Fahad Khwaja and Faizan Zahoor. Irfanullah will accompany them as coach.
A PTTF official said they are expecting a good result from the India-bound squad.
“Our main competition for a spot in the Asian Junior Championship will be with Sri Lanka. Both Pakistan and Sri Lanka are fielding an entirely new set of players and we hope that we will beat them,” the official hoped.
The top two teams will make it to the Asian Junior Table Tennis Championships to be held in Kuala Lumpur at the end of July.
India-bound squad: Abid Iqbal, Ubaid Shah, Abdullah Nazir, Haleema Ali, Huraim Anwar, Kainat Malik, Farwa Arif, Anum Ilyas, Sajid Nadeem (coach), Kifayatullah (manager), Salim Ahmed (international umpire).