LAHORE - National tennis player Zohaib Raza from Bahawalpur has vowed to win more titles in seniors category and represent Pakistan at international level in the ITF Seniors events.
Zohaib has recently won the 35 plus singles title in the ITF Seniors World Ranking Tennis Championship held here at PLTA Courts Bagh-e-Jinnah, where he also earned significant ITF ranking points. In an interview with The Nation, he said: “Winning the 35 plus singles title in the prestigious ITF Seniors event is a great honour for me and the title victory is a result of my sheer hard work and determination to excel at the higher level. I have great love and passion for tennis and I am eager to earn more feats in this game.”
Zohaib said besides tennis, he has also won laurels in swimming, basketball, horse riding and athletics at school level. “Sadiq Public School has great contributions in grooming me and my personality while I always remember my father’s advice, ‘son, education is important but physical activity and sports are equally important’. I was awarded full school blazer at the final year of school because of extraordinary performances in different sports.
“I started playing tennis recently after my return from USA in 2015. I went abroad after finishing my high school from Bahawalpur, then I did my Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Arizona. My parents actually live in Lahore but due to having our family business in Bahawalpur, I prefer to reside there. I have now just one aim to play the best tennis in my age category and earn laurels at national and international level,” he added.
He said that he is not only a passionate tennis player but also a keen promoter of the game. “I have plans to promote and flourish this game in my hometown, Bahawalpur, by conducting good number of tennis tournaments there, which will help in attracting maximum youth towards this beautiful game. I will also meet with the Commissioner Bahawalpur in this regard and I am very hopeful of his all-out support in conducting maximum number of tennis tournaments there.”
Lauding the contributions of Punjab Lawn Tennis Association (PLTA) towards promotion of the game, Zohaib said: “The PLTA, under able guidance and leadership of its Secretary Rashid Malik, has been doing great job by developing and improving the standards of the game and flourishing it in every corner of the province. I believe the government should fully cooperate with people like Rashid Malik, Rao Iftikhar Ahmed and their team so that this year too, they may break the previous two-year record of holding maximum number of tennis tournaments throughout the year.”