Daily Times

LAHORE: Pakistan’s Danyyaal Ali won the Under-17 International Badminton Championship title in Croatia on Sunday. The championship was held in Croatia from June 10 to12. “In the quarterfinals, he defeated Fran Pipunic of Croatia 21-10, 21-10. In the semifinals, he downed Luka Grubic of Croatia 21-10 and 21-15. He won the title after beating Thomas Abraham of Czech Republic 21-13, 21-10,” a spokesman for the Pakistan Badminton Federation (PBF) said Monday. Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) president Lt Gen (r) Syed Arif Hasan has felicitated the player and the national badminton federation. “Heartiest congratulations to Danyyaal and the PBF. Keep up the good work. We are proud of you and your efforts,” Arif said in a statement.

“It is a great achievement and we congratulate the player and Pakistan’s public for this feat,” added the PBF spokesman. He said it was due to the hard work of the players in general and the Pakistan Badminton Federation in particular that Pakistan’s players were participating and winning junior international events. “The development programme initiated by the PBF has been very much beneficial to this cause. It has not just trained our players but has also boosted up their confidence to perform actively in the international events.” He said the PBF was aiming to continue with this progress by sending junior teams abroad regularly. Danyyaal will next participate in the Serbian U-17 International Badminton Tournament at Novi Sad, Serbia from June 17 to 19. The PBF has also fielded an Under-19 badminton team in the SCG Asia Junior Championship to be held in Bangkok, Thailand from July 9 to 17.