Davis Cup Group I: Light at the end of the tunnel for Pakistan

Recent developments point positively towards country’s chances of hosting tie on home soil

KARACHI: Armed with unanimous support from the Asian Tennis Federation (ATF), Pakistan’s chances of hosting the Davis Cup Asia-Oceania zone Group I tie on home soil have increased significantly.

Pakistan have not played a Davis Cup tie at home since 2005, with the International Tennis Federation (ITF) labelling the country ‘not safe’ and forcing Pakistani players to either play on their opponent’s choice of surface or on a neutral venue.

However, ATF President Anil Khanna — who visited Islamabad and Lahore last month — ‘strongly suggested’ to the world tennis governing body to make ‘serious’ attempts to visit Pakistan to assess its security situation.

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Moreover, with China’s request to see Pakistan’s plans for the security arrangements, Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) secretary Khalid Rehmani is confident that things are moving in the right direction for the country to host its first Davis Cup tie in 10 years.

“The request for security plans by China is going to send out a clear message to the world that we have support from the regional giants,” Rehmani told The Express Tribune. “Earlier, Kuwait and Chinese Taipei had outright refused to come to Pakistan, so we had to arrange the ties at the neutral venue. So China’s initiative is a positive sign.”

Pakistan are set to play China in the Davis Cup from March 4 next year, and the regional giants could set the precedent for other countries to rely on their independent security analysis before deciding to visit Pakistan rather than follow ITF’s verdict.

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Rehmani further revealed that in its efforts to bring tennis to Pakistan, the ATF has also scheduled an U14 event in March to make Pakistan’s case for hosting international competitions strong.

Meanwhile, seasoned Davis Cupper Aqeel Khan believes that the ATF should have acted earlier but nonetheless praised their efforts.

“The support from the ATF is a good indication, I wish it could’ve happened earlier,” said Aqeel. “Even without any international tennis happening in our country, we still managed to progress to Group I and that has caught the international community’s eye. Let’s hope this materialises into something positive.”

Published in The Express Tribune, December 3^rd, 2015.

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