ISLAMABAD - Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) president Salim Saifullah Khan has said that after a long gap, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) has provided the federation level-I training course, which started here Sunday.

He said the PTF is doing its best to promote tennis and provide maximum opportunities to national players. “As many as 32 coaches are taking part in the course. Pakistan is home of millions and we need level-I, level-II and level-III coaches. Our main focus is to work on juniors and conduct tournaments for youth to provide them international experience so that they may earn the ITF ranking points.

“Beating Korea in Davis Cup was never easy, but Aisam and Aqeel played superbly and made the day possible for the country. I met with Korean ambassador and he told me that there is not a single grass court in entire Korea, which gave Pakistan edge in the tie, or else they could easily beat Pakistan. Now out of 44 Asian countries, Pakistan is at number 4 in tennis,” he added.

He said after Korea, Pakistan has another big of playing against Uzbekistan. “I know very difficult tie, but Aisam and Aqeel are there, while we have also given exemption to Muzammil because Abid Ali Akbar is not available for April tie. We will include five players this time, while Shahzad Khan and M Abid have tendered apology and they are also invited for trials.”

He also announced that IPC Minister Riaz Pirzada has announced Rs 2 million each for Aisam and Aqeel, while Rs 500,000 each for the remaining players. “We wanted to conduct three juniors this year, but the ITF informed us that we had submitted the request very late. This year, we are conducting one ITF junior, the main round, starting today (Monday). Next year, we will conduct 6 ITF juniors.

“We have requested the ITF to conduct Davis Cup matches on Saturday and Sunday, rather than Friday and Saturday. The ITF is introducing Transition Tour, in which ITF ATP ranking points are abolished. We opposed that as according to that resolution, only $50,000 and above tournaments would have carried ranking points. We told them that it is almost impossible for us to host $10,000 and above events, so how could we host such hefty prize-money events,” he questioned. He also announced trials for Pakistan Davis Cup team, which would be held in mid of March and junior players would also be invited to ensure tough competition for places on offer.

When reminded the federation is being run without a secretary, Saifullah said: “We are searching for a full-time secretary. Soon someone would be deputed to coordinate and things would improve.”

He said he had requested the government for financial support for the federation. “We need around Rs 15 million to construct the boundary walls around the complex and also need gym and rooms for the complex. I hope government will lend a helping hand in this regard. We will try to groom fresh talent and provide them with best facilities, who in return utilize their abilities to excel at higher level,” Saifullah concluded.