Pakistan’s Nauman Aftab wins ITF title

Monitoring Desk

ISLAMABAD: Young Pakistani tennis player Nauman Aftab and his partner, Hong Kong’s Matthew Yee, lifted the doubles trophy in the on-going Syed Tajammul Abbas International Tennis Federation (ITF) Pakistan Juniors Tournament, here at PTF Complex on Friday afternoon.

In a convincing victory, the fourth seeded duo upset the second seeded Thai-Malaysian pair of Siritaworachan and Suresh, by the score of 6-3 6-1.

Aftab had earlier impressed tennis enthusiasts in the country by managing to reach the second round of the singles draw at his first ever ITF Juniors event in Kathmandu, Nepal, last month.

The 17-year-old is a rising tennis star of the country, and is currently receiving training at Karachi’s Modern Club where the Khan brothers, Aqeel, Jalil, and Yasir, honed their skills. In fact, he is being coached by the youngest of the Khan brothers, Yasir, and considers the eldest, Aqeel, his idol, calling him a “legend”:

“I would like to give credit for this victory to my parents and coaches who supported me on this journey, especially Yasir Khan with whom I was training for the last two month and also our Pakistan tennis legend Aqeel khan for guiding me,” Nauman said.

When asked how he prepared himself for this tournament after returning from Nepal a couple of weeks ago, he said, “I was training with my coach and working on my weaknesses and fitness and each and every minor aspect of my game, the hard work has paid off.”

“Since it was my first ITF title, it was a great experience and I felt proud to be on this stage,” Nauman said of the feeling of winning his first ever ITF tournament. “I hope for many more victories to come.”