Mikaeel earned double gold medals in Dushanbe, becoming a singles and doubles champion.
The Somoni Open U14 Asian Tennis Federation tournament in Dushanbe concluded, where Pakistan’s upcoming talented player Mikaeel Ali Baig got two gold medals and became the singles and doubles champion, said a communiqu here on Saturday.
In the singles match, Mikaeel had to face top South Korean player Siyun Kim, who he had lost just last week in a tight finals match. Once again, the two faced each other in a finals showdown.
The thriller match started with Mikaeel very quickly gaining a strong lead and taking the first set at 6-3. In the second set, however, Kim stepped up, changed his strategy and got the set from Mikaeel at 6-1.
It all came down to the third set. Mikaeel was locked in and ready to take on the battle to the finish line. Kim was no match for Mikaeel’s aggressive game. The third set was over very fast as Mikaeel won 6-0.
The duo partnership of Mikaeel (Pakistan) and Siyun Kim (South Korea), then had to face an op-posing doubles team pair from Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan in the finals. The doubles match started off with both teams struggling to take the lead. The first set was tied at 6-6, but the opponents managed to grab the set from Mikaeel and Kim. In the second set, the dynamic pairing of Mikaeel and Kim fought back and won the set at 6-4, taking the match into a super tie-break. —APP
