KARACHI, Oct 20: There seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel.

This can be gauged from the fact that ITF’s Junior Tennis Initiative (JTI) programme has not yet kicked off in the country, and the equipment has been lying with the Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) since long.

The basic idea behind the launch is to encourage boys and girls in the age group of 6-14 years to pick up the sport and create a base.

This year Pakistan is among other countries chosen by the world governing body of the game for the purpose. Six months ago, they sent gadgets – mini tennis nets, mini rackets and the balls – to the PTF. However, those have not yet been disbursed among the youth.

More than three months have passed when the Islamabad-based PTF issued directive to Sindh, Punjab and Islamabad tennis associations to appoint coordinators for teaching basic skills of the game to teenagers. However, no headway has been made for one reason or the other.

“The PTF is awaiting completion of its much-talked about complex in Islamabad and once it’s ready the programme will be launched,” a PTF official told Dawn from Islamabad.

Pakistan was relegated to a new low (group III) in the Davis Cup Asia-Oceania zone earlier this year but no soul was moved in the corridors of power.