LAHORE: Former Pakistan Davis Cupper and international coach Rashid Malik has appreciated Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) for accepting his proposal to hold the Davis Cup Asia Oceania Group-II tie against Hong Kong on the grass instead of hard courts.

Pakistan has already won the tie against Hong Kong which was scheduled to be held in Islamabad next month after the latter refused to visit Pakistan on security grounds despite the fact that the International Tennis Federation (ITF) has cleared Islamabad as a safe city.

Talking to Dawn here on Thursday, Rashid, a seasoned campaigner who as a non-playing captain has won 21 Davis Cup ties says: “The PTF has showed positive gesture towards any former players for the first time which is commendable.”

“I appreciate the acceptance of my proposal by the PTF to hold the Hong Kong tie on grass courts in Islamabad wherein the tennis federation worked round the clock to prepare the grass courts for the match against Hong Kong,” maintained Rashid while hoping that the same behavior would be meted out to other former players.

Pakistan got walk-over against Hong Kong after the International Tennis Federation (ITF) did not bow down to their demand of shifting the tie from Pakistan to any neutral venue due to security reasons.

Now Pakistan will host the winners of the tie between Philippines and Thailand with victory in that match enabling Pakistan to qualify for the Group-I for the third time.

“The ITF should take action against Hong Kong for not coming to Pakistan despite the fact that the international body has cleared the country on the report of its own appointed Gold Batch umpire who visited Pakistan to hold the tie between Pakistan and Iran early this year,” commented the former non-playing captain.

“Also, I believe that Hong Kong did not take the decision due to security fears but fear of defeat forced them to give walkover to Pakistan,” said Rashid who played for Pakistan from 1982 to 1994 as a player.

Rashid was Pakistan’s non-playing captain against Iran the tie which Pakistan won in Islamabad last month. “Pakistan beat Hong Kong in 2010 and 2011 at their home. So Pakistan was hot favourite against Hong Kong,” he remarked while stating that Pakistan would also be hot favourite in the next tie either against Thailand or Philippines in September.

When asked he was not retained as non-playing captain against Hong Kong despite winning against Iran, Rashid said it was the decision of the PTF to give chance to suitable contenders. “It is not significant as to who is part of the team as the most important thing is Pakistan’s victory,” he further said.

Published in Dawn, March 24th, 2017