ISLAMABAD, Sept 23: Pakistan tennis chief Syed Dilawar Abbas said Monday that he was “very encouraged” by the remarkable success over the weekend of the Davis Cup team against China, a victory that earned them promotion to Group I.

“I am happy that the boys have put in such a fine performance and indeed they all deserve praise,” he told Dawn. “I had marked Aqeel Khan as a sustainable commodity for Pakistan and he did really well in the reverse singles.”

“Aisam-ul-Haq on the other hand has the experience and the exposure and having him in the side has always been an edge.”

Pakistan defeated China 3-2 in the Asia Oceania Group II final played in Peshawar as Aqeel rose to the occasion to win the second reverse singles against Wang Yu and seal victory.

Dilawar called for support and encouragement of the players and said that tennis could bring name and fame to Pakistan. “President Pervez Musharraf should invite the boys over and give them a pat on their back, as he did with the cricket and hockey teams.”

Dilawar said that he was committed to giving the team a bonus of US $4000 out of the money the PTF would receive from the International Tennis Federation (ITF). “This will be on top of the local bonus they would get in Pakistan currency.”

He pointed out that the Davis Cup success was achieved because of proper planning that included holding of an extensive training camp where the players were all well looked after.

Dilawar disclosed that he was now looking for sponsors for the sport and has had a “good response” so far. “We need sponsors to send the boys out to play abroad as part of preparation for Group I.”

“In this regard I plan to pick two new boys. We already have Shahzad Samad Khan and Ahmed Wala who were in the Davis Cup camp.”

“I’ll be asking the prominent coaches to help us get two boys each from their respective centres where we’ll send a team of selectors to select them.”

But Dilawar sought cooperation and support of the parents. “This is important because when we pick a talented boy with an eye on the future, his parents can make or break our plans.”

He cited the example of Aisam’s parents, who he said had extended him full support throughout as a result of which he had become such a good player today.