ISLAMABAD, Dec 23: This could not have been a worse year for Pakistan tennis. A poor showing in the Davis Cup, a dismal performance by the juniors, lack of activity on the home front, improper handling of disciplinary matters and infighting in the federation all combined to make 2001 a year to forget.
The tennis chiefs might not agree but the fact of the matter is that as the year draws to a close, the sport stands dangerously on the brink of ruin, with absolute chaos in the federation.
There seems little hope of remedial action being taken by the Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) headed by Anwar Saifullah Khan with Ali Akbar the secretary. Elections of the federation which were due last September have still not been held which has left a question mark over the intentions of the serving officials. The sport indeed is in a sorry mess.
The year witnessed the Davis Cup graph going down with Pakistan suffering a first round defeat in the Asia Oceania Group II against Taiwan. But embarrassment was avoided when the team beat Syria in a Group II playoff, thanks to the brilliance of Aisamul Haq. A defeat would have meant relegation to Group III, which would have been a first in the country’s tennis history.
While the men did not fare too well, the women were denied opportunity of competing in the Fed Cup, which came as a surprise and speaks volumes about the inefficiency of the PTF.
Ali Akbar, the controversial seceratry of the federation claimed that the tournament sponsors who used to provide air tickets and boarding and lodging for the players had drastically cut down the sponsorship. However, investigations reveal that the organisers had taken no such step.
As if this was not enough, the PTF even failed to put together a team for the Islamic Women’s Games in Teheran last October although the entire trip was being sponsored by the Pakistan Sports Board. If this is not inefficiency, then what is. A perfect opportunity of winning a gold just went down the drain.
Although the PTF officials claim that they have been very successful with their Schools Tennis Initiative (STI) Programme, under which as many as 15,000 juniors are enrolled in the city of Lahore alone, results at the junior level are there for all to see.
A team of under-16 and under-14 players that went to Indonesia and Sri Lanka in early May fared poorly. The under-14s finished 12th out of a total of 15 teams while the seniors took 13th place out of 14 sides.
To make matters worse, Col Khalid Javed Asghar Lone, the manager of the under-16 team reportedly chose to go to Bangkok on return from Jakarta and the boys were left on their own and returned to Karachi without the manager.
The biggest mess of the year however was the PTF’s handling of the disciplinary cases, which left them with eggs on their faces.
After constituting a disciplinary committee headed by Brig. Khalid Sajjad Khokhar, the president sat on its recommendations for a good many months and appeared reluctant to take action. But when he eventually did, it created further chaos.
The PTF also failed to fully implement its calendar of activities with only six national tournaments being organised while they were supposed to stage as many as 10 during the year.
There were some bright sparks though at an individual level. THe talented Aisamul Haq won more than five ITF Futures tournaments abroad, which by all means is a big achievement. The PTF however had a little role in his exploits.
The biggest blow to Pakistan tennis came with the death this month of PTF’s senior vice president Ch. Muhammad Farooq who served the game for three decades.
But there’s always hope amidst the gloom. With the New Year now within smelling distance, it is hoped that it turns out to be a bright one for the sport that suffered all through in 2001.
