More officials, few players — sorry scenario of Pakistan tennis

COMMENT

Like many previous occasions in the annals of Pakistan sports, the officials once again outnumbered the players on the recent sojourn to Tehran for the Asia Oceania zone Group III Davis Cup earlier this month.

No less than half a dozen officials accompanied just four players in a comical situation as Pakistan played Group III for the first time ever.

Pakistan team comprised Aisamul Haq, Aqeel Khan, Asim Shafik and debutant Jibran Ahmed Mohammedi with Rashid Malik as the non-playing captain.

The list of half-a-dozen officials included the president of Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) Syed Dilawar Abbas, senior vice- president Saeed Hai, treasurer Arif Qureshi, secretary to PTF chief Khalil Ahmed and Dr. Meesaq Rizvi.

Pakistan, meanwhile, remained undefeated in the eight-nation contest to earn promotion in Group II for 2009.

Tennis, like other sports, has witnessed a big slump during the last three years in Pakistan which is also the second four-year tenure of Dilawar Abbas. This is evident from the fact that prior to entering the Tehran competition, Pakistan had lost all their six ties in succession.

Pakistan reached the World Group play-offs for the first time in 2005 which was no mean achievement. Their decline started the day they fell to Chile 0-5.

This was followed by successive defeats to Taiwan (2-3), India (2-3) and China (0-5) in 2006 which resulted in relegation to group II.

Pakistan’s dismal run continued in 2007 as they took no lesson from the defeats. First they got 1-4 drubbing at the hands of Philippines followed by yet another 2-3 loss to Pacific Oceania only to be relegated to Group III.

The question which arises is whether the trip of so many officials to the Iranian capital was justified when the team has been experiencing some rough times and had, in fact, reached an all-time low?

A move like this three years ago could be justified if the officials had accompanied the team to Chile to boost their players.

Today, the domestic scenario of the game presents a bleak picture. This is quite evident from the fact that the pool of players has shrunk considerably and the lack of proper playing facilities, particularly in Karachi, has marred the frequency of national ranking tournaments with attractive prize money.

Presently, there are only six to eight players among whom the Davis Cup teams are picked. These include Aisamul Haq, Aqeel Khan, Asim Shafik, Jalil Khan, Nomi Qamar and Shahzad Khan who form the nucleus of Pakistan tennis.

There’s no proper back-up for players anywhere in sight and the gap between the seniors and juniors is widening with each passing day. The juniors just won’t be able to fill the vacuum if a need arises in the next two-three years to lift, or at least maintain, a fair standard of the game in the country.

Secondly, it is essential for Karachi to have an international standard tennis complex with synthetic surface, the absence of which is badly felt in the local tennis circuit. And last but not the least, the PTF should double the amount for granting permission to hold all-Pakistan ranking tournaments which currently stands at Rs 1,75,000.

“Playing Group III was a good experience and it’s tougher than Group II in the sense that we have a match on card every day without break,” Aqeel Khan, 28, told Dawn.

Responding to a query Aqeel, who has been Pakistan No 1 since almost a decade, said he has not taken a single penny from the PTF for appearing in the Davis Cup ties during the last two years. As compensation, the PTF has foot his bills for participation in the Futures Tournaments.

Aqeel was full of praise for the officials of the Ludhiana-based Harvest Tennis Academy in India where he trained before joining the Tehran Davis Cup contest.