|
|
|
| September 10, 2003 | Wednesday | Rajab 12, 1424 |
Team needs international exposure: Coach
LAHORE, Sept 9: Pakistan tennis coach, Rashid Malik, has said, it was not a foreign coach but rather maximum international exposure in major events which can improve and hone the skills of the players.
The coach was speaking to the media, at a briefing held at the Defence Club about Pakistan’s preparations for the Davis Cup Asia Oceania Group I play-off tie against South Korea scheduled at Lahore from Sept 19 to 21 at the same venue.
Rashid remarked “A coach can only give some useful tips, besides improving stamina of the players, but the international matches really give the players an opportunity to test their abilities and shortcomings”.
Rashid pointed out that the South Koreans would come to Pakistan after playing three to four ATP Futures competitions in Indonesia while Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) has not planned any tour for the Pakistan team for its preparations and instead is content to hold a training camp, a month before the tie.
Rashid said that now the chances of Pakistan in the Davis Cup were 50-50 because South Korean top player Hung Tak Lee, who is also Asia No. 2, was not coming.
“As Lee is not coming thus I can expect my boys have the potential to give tough time to the South Korean, even they are coming with better preparations”, Rashid said.
Rashid expressed satisfaction on the fitness of his players explaining that only Aisam’s fitness needed to be tested as he had recently joined the camp.
He said that training schedule had been extended from 10am to 2pm to further increase the stamina of the players.
The coach appreciated the facilities provided to the Davis Cup squad during their stay at the Defence Club specifically mentioning the excellent condition of the courts.
To a question, Aisam said that he was mentally and physically prepared for the tie and was not bothered about who was coming with the South Korean team.
The PTF-appointed coordinator for the tie Iftikhar Rao said that the tie had been shifted to the Defence Club from the old venue of Bagh-i-Jinnah as it had more facilities of international standard as compared to the previous venue.
Iftikhar said that the International Tennis Federation (ITF) had appointed Gary AU Yeung of Hong Kong as the referee for the tie. Vladimir of Bosnia and Ahmad Aziz of Egypt were two chair umpires, he said.
Besides Aisam, the other three members of the team. Pakistan No.1 Aqeel Khan, Nomi Qamar and Jalil Khan also attended the briefing.
The South Korean team members are, Choon Ho Kim as the non-playing captain. Young Joon Khn, Kyu Taeim, Hee Seok Chung and Hee Sung Chung are making the four-member team.
The South Korean team is scheduled to arrive here on Sept Monday.
|
|
|
|
