Lahore: Perniya Khan of Wapda added another feather in her decorated cap as she lifted the 1st Saba Waris Cup by beating Saba Mushtaq of Army 3-2 in the women’s final played here at Punjab College Gymnasium.
Perniya, who recently became the national champion after outclassing all her opponents during the Master Cup held in Peshawar, once again showed her class against Saba Mushtaq at her hometown, where the table tennis event was conducted (after a long time) in the name of one of the dedicated table tennis coaches, Saba Waris.
The champion of Wapda though lost the first game 8-11, yet she made a good comeback to the second game 11-9. Saba continued to put pressure on her opponents and once again succeeded in winning the third game 11-7 to take 2-1 lead. This was all that Saba could get from the match as Perniya then started playing her natural game and showed her true class to outclass Saba in the fourth and fifth game 11-6 and 11-4 to clinch the title in great style.
Speaking on the occasion after winning another title, Perniya said: “This tournament was to pay tribute to the efforts of coach Saba Waris. I have very fond memories with him during our training camp in China. I also appreciate the organizers, who have conducted this event and such tournaments should be organized every month as this will help us compete well at national and international level.”
In the men’s final, Abid Iqbal faced tough resistance from Awais Hassan before winning the title with a score of 3-2. Allah Walay Trust CEO Muhammad Shahid Lone, who is also chairman of Lahore District Table Tennis Association (LDTTA), was the chief guest while LDTTA President Irfan Ullah Khan, Secretary Nazim Shah, Masood, Director HR Wapda Sagheer, current and former players and especially Fahad Saba, son of Saba Waris, and his family were also present on the occasion. Irfan Ullah paid rich tributes to coach Saba Waris and lauded his services for the promotion and development of the game in the country.