ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) secretary Khalid Rehmani has said that Hong Kong refusal to play the Davis Cup Asia Oceania Group II semi-final in Pakistan seems to be their tactics of avoiding defeat against the hosts Pakistan.

“Hong Kong’s record against Pakistan is very poor as they have faced defeat in all four or five Davis cup ties they played,” said the PTF secretary.

“It seems Hong Kong took the cover of security concerns in Pakistan in order to avoid imminent defeat,” he added.

The Davis Cup tie was slated to be held between Pakistan and Hong Kong in April this year in Islamabad but Pakistan got walkover after Hong Kong refused to visit Pakistan. Now Pakistan has made it to the final in group II which will be played in September here against the winner of the match between Thailand and Philippines.

“Our chances of winning the final against Thailand or Philippines are high because our players are good at grass court while opponent teams don’t have ample experience of playing on the grass,” the secretary said, adding that Hong Kong decision surprised the PTF as the International Tennis Federation (ITF) had allowed Pakistan to host the tie.

On the other hand, president and secretary of the Asian Tennis Federation (ATF) visited the PTF Tennis Complex the other day. Both appreciated Pakistan for holding Davis cup tie against Iran.

ATF president Anil Khanna and secretary Suresh Subramium along with PTF president Salim Saifullah Khan also addressed a news conference wherein they apprised the media about the steps being taken for the uplift of tennis.

ATF president was of the opinion that Hong Kong should have come to Pakistan wherein they must have found a very safe environment.

The ATF had opened another Asian Tennis Center in Delhi, said the ATF president, adding that a centre was already operational in Bangkok. The ATF president offered young players of Pakistan the facility on subsidized rates.

Answering a question about enhancing tennis exchanges between Pakistan and India, he said that last month Pakistan’s junior Davis Cup team visited Delhi and he would ensure that Indian and other Asian nations send players for all international events in Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, March 27th, 2017