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| September 19, 2003 | Friday | Rajab 21, 1424 |
Aisam to face Tae in opening singles
LAHORE, Sept 18: Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi will clash with South Korean second seed Kyu Tae in the first singles of Davis Cup Asia Oceania play-off tennis tie starting at the Defence Club from Friday.
According to the draws held at the Defence Club on Thursday, Pakistan second seed Aqeel Khan will compete with Kim Young Joon in the second singles, followed by the first. The first singles begins at 10am.
Pakistan will field Jalil Khan and Nomi Qamar to play the doubles against the pair of Chung Hee Seok and Chung Hee Sung on Saturday at 12 noon.
However, it is quite likely Pakistan will change its pair with Aisam and Aqeel as coach Rashid Malik has decided he would not take any risk in this tie by fielding Nomi and Jalil in any match.
According to the rules, players can be replaced two hours before the tie. On the third and last day Sunday, two reverse singles would be played.
The country which loses the tie will be relegated to Group-II while the winners will retain their position in Group-I.
The draws were taken out by Gary Au Yeung of Hong Kong who has been appointed referee for the tie.
Yeung hoped that competitive tennis would be witnessed in the next three days and the spectators would enjoy it.
He said that atmosphere at the Defence Club was good and hopefully the players would play with sportsman spirit.
Later, Pakistan coach Rashid said that his players were fit and had equal chances to win the tie, a feat which Pakistan has not been able to achieve since the last 23 years.
He said that Aisam had to win the first tie because 1-0 lead could play a role for Pakistan’s win.
Schedule of matches:
FRIDAY: 1st singles: IM Kyu Taei vs Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi at 10am; Kim Young Joon vs Aqeel Khan (followed by the 1st singles).
SATURDAY. Doubles: Chung Hee Seok- Chung Hee Sung vs Nomi Qamar-Jalil Khan.
REFEREE: Yeung AU Gary (Hong Kong).
Chair umpires: Vladimir (Bosnia), Ahmad Aziz (Egypt).
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