‘Complete dependence on Aisam, Aqeel harmful’
Hamidul Haq believes team should not rely on Aisam because of his age and because he is essentially a doubles player.
KARACHI:
Former tennis star and Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) selector Hamidul Haq has said that Pakistan should stop depending on ageing stars Aisamul Haq Qureshi and Aqeel Khan and must work to develop younger players in order to excel in the Davis Cup Asia/Oceania group two ties.
“We are lucky that we play teams like Hong Kong and Syria in the opening Davis Cup ties,” Haq told The Express Tribune.
“These are weaker teams and it was expected that Pakistan would win against Hong Kong, however, South Korea will be a tougher competitor. They have younger players who play in professional leagues in Europe, while we are still relying on Qureshi, who is basically a doubles player and Khan whose talent has never been utilised efficiently by the PTF.”
According to Haq, Pakistan usually lose against better teams because they heavily depend on Qureshi and Khan, who do not have the same stamina that a younger player would have, and ultimately fail to compete effectively if a match goes beyond the third set.
The selector felt that there was potential in Pakistan’s rising star, Samir Iftikhar, but emphasized that the PTF must not repeat the mistake of solely relying on him to deliver in crucial ties and must work on developing new players.
“It is the worst time for tennis in Pakistan,” said Haq. “Qureshi is just a doubles player so we should not expect him to play Davis Cup because he has more important tournaments on his calendar.
“Meanwhile, the PTF did not give enough opportunities to Khan. It didn’t sponsor him to play abroad. So now we are without any quality singles players to represent us on international platforms.”
Haq was critical of the performance of the previous administration of the PTF. According to him, it never utilized funds to work on the development of players like Heera Ashiq, Jalil Khan and Yasir Khan. He vowed that as the PTF selector, he would now ensure that younger players get the opportunity to showcase their talent.
However, he felt that Pakistan would take at least five years to groom the present talent at thier disposal.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 9th, 2011.
Former tennis star and Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) selector Hamidul Haq has said that Pakistan should stop depending on ageing stars Aisamul Haq Qureshi and Aqeel Khan and must work to develop younger players in order to excel in the Davis Cup Asia/Oceania group two ties.
“We are lucky that we play teams like Hong Kong and Syria in the opening Davis Cup ties,” Haq told The Express Tribune.
“These are weaker teams and it was expected that Pakistan would win against Hong Kong, however, South Korea will be a tougher competitor. They have younger players who play in professional leagues in Europe, while we are still relying on Qureshi, who is basically a doubles player and Khan whose talent has never been utilised efficiently by the PTF.”
According to Haq, Pakistan usually lose against better teams because they heavily depend on Qureshi and Khan, who do not have the same stamina that a younger player would have, and ultimately fail to compete effectively if a match goes beyond the third set.
The selector felt that there was potential in Pakistan’s rising star, Samir Iftikhar, but emphasized that the PTF must not repeat the mistake of solely relying on him to deliver in crucial ties and must work on developing new players.
“It is the worst time for tennis in Pakistan,” said Haq. “Qureshi is just a doubles player so we should not expect him to play Davis Cup because he has more important tournaments on his calendar.
“Meanwhile, the PTF did not give enough opportunities to Khan. It didn’t sponsor him to play abroad. So now we are without any quality singles players to represent us on international platforms.”
Haq was critical of the performance of the previous administration of the PTF. According to him, it never utilized funds to work on the development of players like Heera Ashiq, Jalil Khan and Yasir Khan. He vowed that as the PTF selector, he would now ensure that younger players get the opportunity to showcase their talent.
However, he felt that Pakistan would take at least five years to groom the present talent at thier disposal.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 9th, 2011.