Irfan Saeed's Badminton Career

Irfan Saeed hails from Lahore, and was born on 18th November 1992. Irfan has done M.Com from University of Central Punjab. The champion was only 12 years old when he started playing Badminton at LDA Complex Samanabad. He received proper coaching and training by Nadeem Javed & Babar Rafique back then, currently he is under the coaching of Naeem Mughal since last 4 years.

Behind every success, there must be people who clap for you and stand beside you. For Irfan, his family and his coach offered this vital role in his life. To be specific, his parents, siblings, maamu and coach Naeem Mughal were his backbone, and that combined with his own efforts led Irfan Saeed to be where he is today.

Starting off with his participation and achievements, Irfan played Under-16 National Championship (2007) held in Islamabad and was victorious. Additionally, he also played an International tournament: Under-16 Asian Championship, held in Vietnam in 2007, to the Quarter Finals round. The top-notch player has also thrice been declared National Champion (U-19) in Men Singles, and also the National Champion(U-19) in Men Doubles (2008, 2009 and 2010). The player has also received training in Malaysia in 2007, and in 2008 and 2009 when he played U-19 Asian Championships there. In 2009, Irfan also played the U-19 World Championship in India. Therefore, Irfan Saeed has had 7 international tours which proved beneficial to him.

The first time Irfan Saeed was crowned winner of U-19 National Championship was in Lahore, while the 2nd time in Faisalabad and 3rd time in Gujranwala. 2013 proved to be a lucky year for Irfan Saeed. His consistent efforts, dedication and love for the game yielded fruitful results. His first major upset in seniors was in Yonex Sunrise Open Championship 2013. At that time, the champion was 21 years old, and won against Wajid Ali, who was Pak.No 1 at that time. He beat him twice in that tournament, once at Team Event, and came 2nd in Singles. He then participated in New Khan National Ranking Championship 2013, where he again won the Final round against Wajid Ali, which was another feather in his cap. Irfan also won a Bronze medal at Islamic Games 2013 held in Cyprus. He went on to play the Dubai International Championship 2013, where he clinched the gold medal.

In 2014, Irfan Saeed travelled to Scotland to play Commonwealth Games, where he played Pre-Quarter Finals. In the same year, he also participated in Asian Games, which were held in Korea. The next year, he travelled to China and received good training and coaching there. He also played Dubai International Championship 2015, where he bagged the Silver medal.

 In 2016, Irfan participated in SAF Games held in India, where the champion played semifinals against Indian player Srikanth (World No.3 at that time), but lost at 22-20 against him. Thus, he won 2 Bronze medals (1 each in 

Team Event and Individual). He also played National Ranking All Pakistan Tournament 2016 held in Lahore, where he clinched gold medal in Men's Singles as well as Men's Doubles. He also won a Gold medal at Peshawar National Ranking All Pakistan Tournament 2016, and a Silver medal at Pakistan International Series 2016.

In 2017, Irfan Saeed amazed the Badminton community by clinching Gold Medals in the following :

• Nepal International Tournament

• National Championship held in Karachi

• National Ranking All Pakistan Tournament held in Lahore 

• Peshawar National Ranking All Pakistan Tournament.

In 2018, the winner took part in National Championship, National Ranking Badminton All Pakistan tournament (Islamabad) and National Ranking Badminton All Pakistan Tournament (Quetta) and won Gold medals one after the other. This boosted the confidence and motivation in him as he bagged gold medals in 6 consecutive National Ranking All Pakistan Tournaments, and so he went on to play Asian Games held in Indonesia, Jakarta. Our champion played against Chen Long (World champion & Olympics champion). He also played the Commonwealth Games (Australia), as well as the International Badminton League (Maldives), where he clinched a Silver medal and became the first Male player from Pakistan to play the respective League.

Things were going smoothly and Irfan Saeed had touched the peak of success in the game, when things took a turn in 2019. During a match, he

twisted his right knee, and was badly injured. During this time, he received immense support from his family, friends, coaches, doctors, etc. To name a few, Dr Muneeb Razzaq, Dr Tauseef Razzaq, Coach Naeem Mughal, Coach Ikram Sadiq, and ofcourse the most support by his parents and the department WAPDA. They all motivated him and his coaches ensured he was not left alone throughout the injury, and everyone made sure he never went through it all alone. The champion then trained and came back in court, just to have his left knee injured this time, which was a big blow. He received constant support from everyone once again, and made a much awaited comeback in National Championship 2021. On his way to the final, he beat the former champion Awais Zahid and dethroned Murad Ali. He made his 4th attempt to become the National Champion of Pakistan, however he could not turn the thrilling final his way. Moreover, he also lost Men's Doubles final in the same tournament.

The shining star Irfan Saeed is no ordinary player, his willpower and determination to rise after every fall, his strengths, talent, hard work combined with luck has yielded results. He has even brought Pakistan in limelight on international level more than 30 times, by playing International Series of Dubai, Egypt, Bahrain & many more. No matter what happens, Irfan Saeed is, and will always be a champion of Pakistan, who aims to one day represent his country in the Olympics, and win a medal there. He is a true example for all players out there, to never quit, and to give your 100% at all times.

Written by: Muhammad Anas Akhtar (Admin FBCOP)

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