LAHORE: Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) succeeded in retaining their double crown in the 55th National Badminton Championships here Sunday when both their men and women’s teams outclassed their respective opponents in the finals. In the men’s final, WAPDA defeated National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) 3-2. In the first singles contest, Irfan Saeed of WAPDA beat Rizwan Azam of NBP 2-1. In the first doubles, Rizwan Azam and Kashif Sulari of NBP defeated Irfan Saeed and Azeem Sarwar of WAPDA 2-1. In the second singles, Murad Ali of NBP overpowered Azeem Sarwar of WAPDA 2-1. In the second doubles, Azeem Sarwar and Atique Chaudhary of WAPDA beat Murad Ali and Aijaz Malik of NBP 2-0. In the third singles, Awais Zahid of WAPDA defeated Danial of NBP 2-0. As many as 16 teams of various departments and four provinces fought for men’s title: WAPDA, NBP, SNGPL HEC, Police, Army, Railways, KPT, PMAD, PTCL, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Sindh, FATA and AJK. In the women’s final, WAPDA registered an easy win, overpowering Sui Northern Gas Pipe Lines (SNGPL) 3-0. In the first singles match, Mahoor Shahzad of WAPDA beat Zubara of SNGPL 2-0. In the first doubles, Mahoor and Saima of WAPDA defeated Ghazala and Zubara of SNGPL 2-0. While in the second singles, Sehra Akram of WAPDA beat Juveria Tahir of SNGPL 2-0. The 10 teams who competed for the women’s title included WAPDA, SNGPL, NBP, HEC, Army, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Sindh and Islamabad. Published in Daily Times, January 8th 2018.