Islamabad
Former Davis Cupper Hamid ul Haq has asked the Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) to announce incentives for the promising tennis players if it wants replacements for Aqeel Khan and Aisam ul Haq.
Look Aisam and Aqeel are at the twilight of their careers and there will no more be able to represent Pakistan in the Davis Cup ties after 2 to 3 years, he told APP.
“Hence we need to encourage youngsters to come forward and play for the country and that will only happen if there will be some sort of incentives for them,” he said.
Pakistan lost to India in Under-12 South Asian event without winning a single game in three matches. We also lost to Bangladesh in the same tournament. Pakistan team finished 6th out of seven in the Fed Cup qualifying and came 13th out of 16 teams in the Davis Cup Junior.
Hamid, a Pride of Performance recipient, said the future of Pakistan in tennis was apparently in doldrums as he sees no replacements of current players Aqeel Khan and Aisam ul Haq due to PTF’s poor policies over the years. “PTF is not investing the way it should on junior players,” he said.
He questioned PTF asking why the tennis academy wasn’t established earlier. “The rackets and tennis balls do not reach the players which are being provided by ITF,” he claimed.
“Coaches and players were not paid daily allowances during the Davis Cup tie against South Korea,” he alleged.
However, he said Abid Ali is a good player but investment needs to be done on him.
Hamid said some advisors to PTF President Salim Saifullah have been misguiding him which had resulted in downfall of the game. Hamid said he as a coach made Pakistan won four Davis Cups but parted ways with PTF just because of the same reason. “PTF has never given cash rewards to junior players of the Davis Cup team,” he claimed. Speaking about the Pakistan-India Davis Cup tie set on September 14 and 15 here at Pakistan Sports Complex, he said the Indian team players Ramkumar Ramanathan and Prajnesh Gunneswaran, Divij Sharan and Rohan Bopanna are engaged in international tournaments all year round. India has won six Davis Cup ties against Pakistan in 1962, 1963, 1964, 1970, 1973 and 2006.
He said at our times Davis Cup camps were long-term and junior players were attached with seniors to become skilled in the game. “Now the players don’t bother to come in camps which are the reasons they do not excel in the game,” he said.—APP
