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| Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi.—Reuters |
KARACHI Pakistan tennis has hit rock bottom and no player is in sight to replace Aisamul Haq and Aqeel Khan when the duo hangs up their rackets in the next few years.
`The Pakistan under-16 juniors` team performed miserably in the Asia Oceania Davis Cup and finished 12th among 16 nations,` Munir Pirzada, a former Davis Cupper and ex-Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) secretary, said in a statement on Wednesday.
He said the team, which comprised Heera Ashiq, Faizan Khurram and Abid Ali, all from Lahore, got a 3-0 drubbing at the hands of Australia, Japan, Taiwan, China and Philippines, winning just a single tie against Malaysia 2-1.
`The absence of any player from Karachi or Islamabad in the team is massively shocking,` he claimed.
Munir, a strong critic of PTF, quoted Sindh Tennis Association (STA) official Khalid Rehmani who has alleged that all the three players were overage and he (Rehmani) has barred Heera Ashiq from playing under-16 tournament in the city for the last three years.
Pakistan, he said, travels to Manila to play their Asia Oceania Davis Cup group II second round tie against Philippines starting on July 8 on indoor Clay Courts and the change of surface has reduced visitors` chances of victory.
The tie was to be played on Grass Courts at Lahore but the ITF moved it to Manila citing security concerns.
Pakistan have not exploited the right of court or convinced ITF to conduct it at neutral venue either at Kuala Lumpur or Dhaka on Grass Courts, he added.
