Pakistan’s rising tennis stars lit up the courts in Colombo, crushing arch-rivals India 2-0 in the ATF South Asia U-12 Championship semifinals on Thursday — and sent a loud message across the region.
Rashid Ali dismantled B.C. Thanush Shekar 6-2, 6-3, while Muhammad Shayan Afridi steamrolled Khatri Nayan 6-0, 6-1 in a straight-sets masterclass.
Now just one step away from glory, the young guns face hosts Sri Lanka in Friday’s grand finale.
Pakistan Tennis Federation President Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi hailed the win as “a tremendous achievement,” especially after the U-16 team’s narrow loss to India last week. “This was domination,” he emphasized.
PTF Secretary General Col Zia-ud-Din Tufail called the squad’s unbeaten campaign “simply amazing,” as Pakistan earlier crushed Maldives, Bangladesh, and Nepal 3-0 in the group stage.
With their eyes on the trophy, these fearless youngsters are rewriting the future of Pakistan tennis — one ace at a time.
