LAHORE, Sept 21: A former secretary of the Punjab Lawn Tennis Association (PLTA) has said dismal showing by Pakistani boys and girls in the recently concluded ITF junior tournaments has rebuked the claim of Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) that it had groomed ten outstanding girls and a number of boys also.

In a press release, Bashir Gill said that the grooming of junior players had remained the most neglected area and virtually nothing had been done in this connection for the past three years.

“There’s no national coach, no systematic and organized coaching system and no mechanism for monitoring the progress of juniors,” he said.

He pointed out that most of the players were from poor families and they could not afford to buy even balls or quality rackets. But neither the PTF nor the provincial associations were doing anything for them, he alleged.

Mr Gill said that the School Tennis Initiative programme for juniors in Pakistan had been unfortunately sacrificed at the altar of personal whims and short-sightedness.

He suggested that the PLTA should patronize and support junior players like Omer Baber, Khurram Nazir, Tanvir Ashiq, Tanvir Munir, Ahmad Aslam and Fahad Ali.