LAHORE, Nov 26: Pakistan’s top ranked player Maryam Raheem slammed the Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) on Saturday for not exempting her from appearing in the national trials held last September.

Maryam claimed that she was still No 1 but the PTF did not exempt her from the trials to pick the Pakistan team for the Islamic Games.

“The PTF was forcing me to appear in the trials despite knowing the fact no girl has the talent or skill to compete with me.

“In fact, PTF has insulted me by forcing me to face youngsters and as a result of this policy I decided to boycott the trials,” she said.

Maryam said that she qualified for the finals despite the fact she came back in the court after a long lay-off, due to marriage.

“I did not face any tough competition and that is enough to prove the PTF is doing nothing to promote the game and produce talented players in abundance.

“Rashid Malik, at the age of 44 entered the semifinals of the men’s singles which is another example reflecting the dearth on the men’s side too,” she said.