KARACHI, Sept 5: A four-member juniors’ tennis team which comprised Karachi players leaves on a twin tour of Japan and Thailand on Sept 19 to compete in International Club (IC) junior challenge competitions, secretary IC Pakistan, Saeed Ahmed, said on Thursday.

According to itinerary, competition in Tokyo will be held from Sept 21 to 23 while the matches in Thailand get into action from Sept 26.

Parents are footing the bill of their children including the return air fare. “I’ve paid more then Rs100,000 for my child,” a parent when asked said on condition of anonymity.

Contrary to the statement that the team has been selected from outstanding juniors who have performed successfully in tournaments in Karachi, one player Hasan Farooq does not even figure among top four in boys under-15 and juniors under-17 half-yearly rankings released by the Sindh Tennis Association (STA) last month.

Team:

Mohammad Ibrahim Iltifat, Mohammad Raza Sawani, Nazif Ahmed, Hasan Farooq. Khalid Rehmani (manager).