LAHORE - Pakistan’s rising star Zohaib Afzal Malik (SA Group) and his partner Imran Ahundov from Turkmenistan clinched gold medal in the 6th and last leg of ATF Aslomudin Open U14 after winning a nerve-wrecking doubles final against Arafat Mustafa and Assan Sarmanov in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Zohaib and Imran were up 2-0 when their opponents started attacking and put them on defence.
By the time when it was 3-3, their opponents took risk and played few hard and quality shots, winning the first set 6-3. In the second set, Zohaib and Imran were up 2-0, when again Arafat and Assan started hitting hard all around the court and took the 4-2 lead. From here, Zohaib and partner changed their strategy and started playing like a real team. They made their opponents run on the corners and with their flawless volleys; they managed to equalize the score at 4-4. They continued their combination of excellent serves and volleys that helped them win the second set 6-4. The match went on to Super TieBreak, where Zohaib and Imran were 2-0 up but their opponents bounced back to level the score at 2-2. From here, their score was 3-3, all the way to 8-8. The consistency, focus and team work of Zohaib and partner then made the difference and their support to each other through thick and thin helped them win the decisive set 10-8, thus clinching the ATF U14 doubles gold medal. Zohaib’s singles semifinal was also proved a tough one.
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He though won the first set 6-0 without any difficulty, but his opponent Saidamir Ikramov changed his tactics and started giving lobs, which irritated Zohaib, who was 0-3 down from where he managed to level the score at 3-all. Zohaib started breaking Saidemir services and won the second set 6-4 to earn a place in the U14 singles final, where he will take on number one seed Abdulhodiy Hosilov of Uzbekistan, who defeated another talented Pakistani player Mikaeel Ali Baig by 7-6(6), 1-6, 6-4 in the second semifinal. Zohaib, who has the record of winning 23 consecutive doubles nationals, accredited his partner Abubakar, who always support each other and helped mastering doubles skills. “I have to face number one seed Abdulhodiy Hosilov of Uzbekistan in the ATF U14 boys singles today (Friday) and I am keen to give my best and try to win another gold medal for Pakistan,” Zohaib asserted.