MINGORA: Hamza Khan clinched the single title, Abdul Basit and Faisal Khan double title of the district badminton open championship here on Monday.
The district badminton tournament was sponsored by District Sports Office and was organized by District Swat Badminton Association.
Top 40 shuttlers including some national players from across the district participated in the event which was played in four formats; Single open, double open, veteran and under 12 categories.
In the single final Hamza Khan defeated Ziaullah Khan which in a tough competition.
In double final the pair of Abdul Bast and Faisal Khan defeated Ziaullah Khan and Shujat Ali Ali after showing commendable performance.
In the veteran category the pair of Amanullah and Rizwan defeated Azeem khan and Javed Ali Shah to win the trophy while in junior category Haroon Khan outclassed all and emerged victorious.
The final matches were witnessed by huge crowd and badminton lovers. They said they enjoyed highly professionally played games. “Swatis love the indoor games and has produced national level players both in badminton and table tennis. We came and enjoyed the games today,” said Muhammad Amin a resident of Amankot.
According to the organizers the tournament was part of a talent hunt campaign in the district and managed to identified some best players.
“The district tournament was aimed to explore badminton talent in the district and we were successful as we identified some best shuttlers. District Badminton team will be formed from the top best five players of the tournament,” Zafar Ali Khan, president of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Badminton Association told Dawn.
Winner of the double title Abdul Basit and Faisal Khan said the tournament boosted their interest and would try to maintain their title next time. “We will go higher and represent Pakistan in Badminton in near future,” they said.
Hamza Khan a new emerging player who clinched the single open title belonged to Charbagh area and had learnt badminton in outdoor court. “We have only one badminton hall in Mingora where players from far off areas cannot come. The government should construct badminton halls in every tehsil of Swat as it is one of the favorite sports of Swatis,” he said.
Chief Guest, Zahid Khan appreciated efforts of the Swat District Badminton Association for organizing a successful tournament and congratulated winners of the tournament. “The best part of the tournament was the way junior and senior players played. All the players showed high level of discipline and sportsman spirit,” he said.
