PTF announces squad for Davis Cup

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) has sent the names of Aisamul Haq Qureshi, Aqeel Khan, Samir Iftikhar and Yasir Khan to take part in the important Davis Cup tie against South Korea starting from July 8-10 and named Muhammad Khalid as team captain. This is perhaps a good sign in a way that professional sense finally prevailed in the PTF as it has retained the winning combination, which had defeated Hong Kong in the previous encounter. This South Korean side consists of Young-Jun Kim, world's ranking 373, Kyu-Tae IM, ranked 479 in the world, Yong-Kyu Lim ranked 506 and Hyun-Joon Kim ranked 837 in the world singles, while they have made Young-II Yoon as their captain. By looking at above facts, one thing is sure that Koreans are not much superior than Pakistan although they have better singles ranking but it is also true that this Korean side is the weakest in 12 years or so and Pakistan have got a real chance to create history by beating them at their own backyard. If we look closely at the Pakistan side, both Asiam and Aqeel are more than capable of winning big matches on any given day. Although Asiam has just lost his both doubles and mixed doubles matches in first round at Wimbledon but this will provide more hunger and motivation to him to play with more passion. Similarly, Aqeel is also more than handy and he is by no means any mug with the tennis racket and their combination can be lethal. Although the PTF has started the training camp a bit late and 12 days are not enough to bring someone in to shape even then the boys can perform by using their vast international and national experience according to the situation. Samir is the future of Pakistan. Samir needs exposure and time and the most important thing which every Pakistani must appreciate is that Samir having the British passport could have easily played for his adopted country but he preferred to play for the country of his father and this gesture must be applauded by every Pakistani. The future of Pakistan tennis revolves around the shoulders of Samir and Yasir as Aqeel and Aisam are reaching the twilight of their carriers and there is an urgent need of finding their replacements. The PTF management can overcome this crisis by working on war footings to find and groom talent at grassroots level. Kaleem Imam, President PTF, has the extra advantage of being himself a tennis player and he has the know-how of tennis but the people around him, who, he thinks, are loyal to him in fact are not loyal to themselves. They just gather around him to gain personal favours and have no interest in tennis or in players. Kaleem must get rid of these so-called friends of him at the earliest and bring in professionals like Zulfiqar Rahim, Mehboob Khan, Hameedul Haq, Inamul Haq and many more who have spent their lives in tennis and have good reputation and vast experience to turn around the fast declining tennis in Pakistan. The first step which the PTF president must take is to get rid of Arif Qureshi, Treasurer at the PTF, who despite not having the majority and has already served for two terms is still performing his duties. This is a sheer violation of the rules and regulations and Supreme Court's directives have been totally ignored in this case in which no one is allowed to run for third term. This guy despite getting a heavy salary from the PTF is continuing to interfere in each and every matter and never wastes a chance to bring a bad name for the PTF and especially its president. Now the PTF president has to decide whether he wants to follow the rules and regulations or keep on getting blackmailed from such persons. Meanwhile, in an exclusive telephonic call with this correspondent, Birbal Wadhera, the Indian coach who was hired by the PTF for training of players last month, has welcomed the team selection and had wished best of luck for the Pakistan team for the Davis Cup tie against South Korea. He further said: "As a coach I have seen the likes of Jalil, Yasir and others and they are very good, they will give a fight for their money to the Koreans."