February 6, 2006	Monday	Muharram 7, 1427

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ISLAMABAD, Feb 5: As the Pakistan tennis team was getting ready to leave for Taiwan, a question mark hung over their preparations for the Asia Oceania Davis Cup Group I tie starting Friday.

The players complained that they could not get the kind of training that was required during the camp at the Karachi Gymkhana because of the cemented hard courts.

The Feb 10-12 tie is to be played on Plexipav hard courts which are said to be slower than the cemented ones. “It is surprising that the Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) chose to stage the camp in Karachi,” said Hameedul Haq, a former Davis Cup player.

Hameed alleged that PTF had vested interests in holding the camp although it could have been organised at Wah where the courts and the weather are similar to what the team will encounter in Taiwan.

To make matters worse, a planned eight-day training in Hong Kong en route to Taiwan, had to be scrapped because of PTF’s own mismanagement.

The federation found out at the eleventh hour that because of the Chinese New Year, the embassy was closed and therefore visas could not be obtained.

“This goes to show how organised the PTF is,” said Hameed. “When you have a secretary who attends office only once a week, these things are bound to happen.”

Pointing out that it was not the first instance of such mismanagement, he recalled that the PTF had made loud claims the team would make a stopover in Argentina for training ahead of last September’s Davis Cup tie in Chile. “But what has happened now, that camp never took place.”

What the PTF needs to avoid such a mess up in future is to have a full-time secretary who knows the game. “I think former Davis Cup players should be at the helm.”

Hameed, Pakistan’s most capped Davis Cup player, felt that due to lack of proper training the side had little chance of winning in Taiwan.

“We beat them at Lahore last year but the run-up to the upcoming tie has not been encouraging at all.”