April 13, 2006	Thursday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 14, 1427

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ISLAMABAD, April 12: The Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) oblivious of the poor condition of the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) courts is going ahead by organising Junior Davis Cup trials there.

Much to everyone's surprise the PTF announced on Wednesday that it was holding the under-16 trials starting Thursday on the PSB hard courts.

The decision of the tennis managers upset the parents as well as the players who claimed that the courts were not only slippery but also had cracks and produced uneven bounce.

The trials for the event in Malaysia next month could have been held elsewhere they said with Karachi being an appropriate and sensible choice considering the weather there would be similar to that in Malaysia.

A PSB official who requested not to be identified admitted the courts were in a poor condition and suggested that the trials could be staged at the adjacent hard courts of the Islamabad Tennis Academy, if they had been painted a week ago.

Surprisingly, it was only on Wednesday that the decision on trials was communicated to the players who pointed out that they were being made to suffer because of the slackness and inefficiency of the PTF officials.

It is not the first time the PTF is indulging in such methodical madness.

Not long ago, the federation had chosen to stage under-14 trials on the clay courts of the PTF Complex for a tournament in Maynmar which was contested on hard courts.