KP Table Tennis Academy Honor New National TT Champion Fahad, Ummam

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Sports Directorate Table Tennis Academy Friday organized a grand program in honor of Fahad Khawaja and his younger brother Ummam Khawaja of being the winners and runners-up of the 57th Quaid-e-Azam National Table Tennis Championship held in Lahore recently

PESHAWAR, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 7th Jan, 2022 ) :The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Sports Directorate Table Tennis academy Friday organized a grand program in honor of Fahad Khawaja and his younger brother Ummam Khawaja of being the winners and runners-up of the 57th Quaid-e-Azam National Table Tennis Championship held in Lahore recently.

On arrival at the Peshawar Sports Complex, both new national champion Fahad Khawajah and his younger brother Ummam Khawajah were garlanded on their matchless performance of winning the 57th National Table Tennis Championship after defeating his younger brother Ummam Khawjah in the final.

It was a honor, the two brothers recorded for the first time, Director General Sports Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khalid Khan told media.

Table tennis fans warmly received both Fahad and Ummam Khawajah while Shah Khan, hailing from Swat took third position in the Championship and one of the women player, also hailing from KP Iqra Rehman, who overall took fifth position in the women singles but part of the Pakistan Army team won the women trophy.

DG Sports Khalid Khan, who was the chief guest at the event held at Arena Hall of Qayyum Sports Complex, lauded the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa players.

President of the Association Asim Shiraz, General Secretary Shahid Afridi, former President Senior Sports Journalist Ijaz Ahmed Khan, Senior Journalist Nadir Khawaja, President KP Sports Writers Association Asim Sheeraz, Secretary Shahid Afridi and a large number of players and officials were also present on the occasion.

Khalid Khan said that due to their hard work and efforts table tennis has been promoted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and a large number of players of different age groups are coming forward which is a great pleasure.

He said that Fahad Khawaja, Ummam Khawaja, Iqra Rehman, Kainat Malik, Haseeb Khawaja, Shayan Farooq are some of the upcoming players playing in the top national ranking.

"We will encourage them at every turn so that they can continue to do better in the same way," Khalid Khan said.

He said that financial support will also be given to these players who have made the name of the country and the nation famous so that these players will continue their achievements.

Earlier, National Champion Fahad Khawaja addressed the function. He appreciated the efforts of DG Sports Khalid Khan, former DGs Asfandyar Khan and Junaid Khan to develop sports.

He said that it was a result of their encouragement that today Khyber Pakhtunkhwa players as well as table tennis players are among leading players of the country.

He said that there is a need for further improvement in sports, adding, by hiring professional coaches and setting up camps, the players of our province would be able to perform better in the upcoming international competitions like Commonwealth Games, South Asian Games, Islamic Games and Asian Games.

He said that there is an urgent need for an indoor hall, specifically meant for table tennis in the Complex.

Fahad thanked the officials of the Table Tennis Association and the Academy for organising this wonderful program.

Kifayatullah, Vice President, Table Tennis Association, KP, said that the players of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa made their country and nation famous on national and international levels.

The top players in Pakistan table tennis are from Peshawar and Swat, which is because of the encouragement and incentives announced by the Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mahmood Khan wherein more than 1250 athletes are giving monthly stipend on regular basis.

Fahad highlighted the performance of the players and also apprised the DG Sports about the requirements of the players. It is also worth mentioning here that Ummam Khawaja won the South Asian Gold Medal at a young age of 12 years.

Fahad Khawaja represented Pakistan in the last Commonwealth Games held in Gold Coast, Australia. China. Fahad also played in the Spain, Germany and France Leagues on his own expenses.

At the end of the program, shields were given to DG Khalid Khan and Fahad Khawaja.