KARACHI: A week of tennis ended with three titles for Asad Zaman, making his journey from Lahore worthwhile.

Asad swept to the boys’ under-16, under-14 and doubles at the 10th Essa Lab National Seniors and Juniors Tennis Champ­ionships, which concluded here at the Modern Club on Friday.

It was a show of utter dominance by Pakistan’s top-ranked player in the under-14 age category.

Yet, when he participates on the international level, he’s no match for his opponents.

“At an International Tennis Federation tournament, I was completely outplayed by my opponent,” Asad told Dawn at the end of the championships. “We don’t get to play top international tournaments in Pakistan often and there is a lack of competition here.”

Asad has dreams. He wants to play at Grand Slam tournaments like Wimbledon. But getting there, isn’t easy.

It requires top-level competition week in week out; something that can’t be offered in Pakistan.

Asad, however, is one of the few Pakistani junior players who has a sponsor; most of his costs are covered by fast food behemoth McDonald’s.

That isn’t the case with Mohammad Ahtisham, who claimed the boys’ under-18 title with a three-set victory over Raahim Veqar.

“We do get support from the tennis federation but it’s not enough,” he told Dawn. “The more high-level tournaments we play, the more our performances will get better. But to go and play at those tournaments, we need sponsors which we don’t have.”

Tournament organiser Khalid Rehmani, who is the secretary of the Sindh Tennis Association, though, blames the players for not doing enough.

“We’re doing our job of promoting the game,” Rehmani, the former Pakistan Tennis Federation secretary, told Dawn.

He claimed the junior players “were given a daily allowance” while “their travelling expenses are also covered”.

“Ninety percent of the blame for why Pakistan’s tennis players don’t reach the top lies with the players themselves,” added Rehmani.

“The players don’t train hard enough. You have to train at least seven to eight hours but players don’t devote this much time.

“The federation or government only covers expenses twice or thrice but after that the players have to do that on their own. That’s how it’s done in the whole world.”

Rehmani vowed that the STA will continue to organise tournaments so that the players get an opportunity to play.

The championships saw over 150 players taking part and other noteworthy achievers were Natalia Zaman, who won the girls’ under-18 title, Samer Zaman, who clinched the under-12 crown, and Rashid All Bachani, the winner of the under-10 event.

Published in Dawn, December 12th, 2021