ISLAMABAD: Tennis star Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi was on elected as the new president of the Pakistan Tennis Federation, marking it the first time than an active player will be at the helm of the country’s governing body for the sport.

In the elections for the next four-year term, which runs until 2028, Aisam edged retired Major General Asghar Nawaz by eight votes to seven.

The polls here at the PTF-SDA Tennis Complex also saw retired Lt Col Ziauddin Tufail win the contest fir secretary general, defeating Suleman Javed by eight votes to seven.

Mohammad Arif Qureshi takes up the post of treasurer after getting nine votes against his opponent Umar Farooq’s six.

“I’m very excited at the win, Aisam, who recently took part in Pakistan’s Davis Cup World Group I Playoff tie against India, told reporters.

“During my playing career, I tried my best to bring laurels for my country and now as president of the federation I will be trying to deliver my best.

The 43-year-old added that he had learnt a lot at international level and would be trying to disseminate his knowledge of the game to Pakistan players.

“My goal to take Pakistan tennis to new heights and work for the betterment of players, coaches and trainers. I’ll not disappoint the nation,” he said.

Aisam replaces the outgoing Salim Saifullah Khan, who completed his second and final four-year term as president in December 2022.

The PTF constitution has a two-term restriction for its top officials and while the elections became due over a year ago, they couldn’t be held because of court cases against Pakistan Sports Board’s new policies.

Published in Dawn, February 11th, 2024