LAHORE, Aug 19: National tennis coach Rashid Malik considers South Korea as favourites in the forthcoming Davis Cup Asia Oceania play-off against Pakistan to be played at the Defence Club from Sept 19 to 21.

Addressing the first press briefing held at the Defence Club about the preparations being made for the Davis Cup, Rashid said that although Pakistan had the advantage of hot weather and grass court, yet he regarded the visitors to have advantage.

The coach pointed out that Pakistan could not win against South Korea in the past and they had outstanding players like Hung Tak Lee who ranked under 50 in the world.

“Koreans are used to face maximum temperature of 37C and it goes against them while Pakistanis are strong on grass courts and we will try to take advantage of these opportunities”, Rashid said.

Rashid said that Aisam, who has been included in the four- member team without appearing in the trials and is still out of the country, would join the camp at least two weeks before the start of the tie. Pakistan No.1 Aqeel Khan, Nomi Qamar and Jalil Khan are attending the camp at the Defence Club.

“I want to check Aisam’s match fitness and also want him to be acclimatised as he has been out of the country for a long time”, he added.

Asked if Aisam’s playing abroad not enough to prove his fitness, the coach pointed out he was playing three-setter match there while Davis Cup matches would be five setters, therefore, he should be well prepared for the tough assignment.

Rashid said that according to the informations he had received Aisam had failed to qualify for the US Open starting from Aug 24.

“No doubt Aisam is a fine player but I want to be fully satisfied about his (Aisam’s) fitness well before the start of the main competition, the coach said.

Queried if Pakistan had prepared a third player to share the load of Aisam and Aqeel, Rashid claimed that Nomi was a seasoned player but Jalil was inexperienced if Nomi beats Aisam or Aqeel during the camp training he would give him (Nomi) a chance.

Pakistan Tennis Federation’s appointed coordinator, for the Davis Cup tie, Iftikhar Rao while replying to a question held out an assurance that every fan would get easy access to the venue of the matches and would not face any problem due to strict security.

Asked why the Punjab Lawn Tennis Association (PLTA) had not been selected Bagh-i-Jinnah where Davis Cup ties had been staged previously and was centrally located, Iftikhar claimed that the old venue lacked international facilities while Defence Club could cater to all the needs of the players and the spectators.

He said that there were various offers for sponsorship for the event and a final decision would be taken soon.

Rashid said that PTF would assist Punjab financially for staging international event, however, he did not disclose the amount to be provide to Punjab.

“Money is not a matter for Punjab as we have the resources to hold the tie in better ways in all circumstances,” he claimed.

The newly elected PLTA president Amanullah Shahani turned down the allegation of former secretary Bashir Gill that the elections, which were held on Aug 16, were not held according to the constitution.

Amanullah stated that representatives of 31 districts took part in the elections and formed an unopposed body.

He said that PLTA would build up a tennis complex of international standard whether at the Bagh-i-Jinnah or at any other place in Lahore and disclosed that PLTA would hold at least three tournaments before the end of the year.