Pakistan through to Davis Cup Group II final after Hong Kong withdrawal

Hosts qualify via walk-over after visitors pull out due to security concerns

KARACHI: Hong Kong have withdrawn from the Davis Cup Asia-Oceania Group II tie against Pakistan, which was scheduled to take place in Islamabad from April 7, citing security concerns.

As a result,Pakistan have now progressed to the final round of the group after being awarded a walk-over, where they will face either Thailand or Philippines in September.

Hong Kong were enjoying a good run in the tournament, having defeated fourth seeds Vietnam 3-2 in February.

However, they appealed to the International Tennis Federation (ITF) that they will not visit Pakistan due to security concerns.

ITF in an official statement, declined Hong Kong’s request and maintained their view that all security measures were in place for the tie to take place in Pakistan.

“The ITF regrets and respectfully disagrees with the decision of Hong Kong, China to default its upcoming Davis Cup tie against Pakistan,” said the ITF in a statement. “The ITF takes the security of all players, team personnel, officials and spectators very seriously. We are entirely confident in the security risk management procedures we have in place.”

The Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) has built grass courts especially for this game and are therefore understandably disappointed with Hong Kong's decision.

"We definitely wanted Hong Kong to come and compete here," PTF secretary Khalid Rehmani told The Express Tribune. "It is shocking for us that they wouldn't come because we have successfully held the first round tie, but we are also glad that the ITF supported us and stood by their decision."

Rehmani believes Pakistan can successfully continue to hold ties in teh country. "When Iran came, they really wanted to go out and see Islamabad, but they couldn't because of the security, however they were eager to come, they were happy to be here," he said. "We've always welcomed the foreign players and teams to play in Pakistan."

ITF further added, that, "as a result of Hong Kong, China’s default, the case now goes to the Internal Adjudication Panel (IAP) for further consideration to determine whether a breach has been committed. The IAP will decide any sanctions to be assessed against Hong Kong, China according to the regulations of the 2017 competition."

Meanwhile, Aqeel Khan expressed his disappointment with Hong Kong's decision and believes that it was more of an excuse for not playing.

"I don't understand why they don't want to come," Aqeel told The Express Tribune. "If this was the first tie after 12 years I could've understood, but Iran came, a french referee came and they were happy.

"We satisfied the international tennis community with the arrangements and we were really looking forward to this. Hong Kong have just used it as an excuse. We've played four ties against them previously on their surface and we won them all. So their reason for not coming is not valid. Pakistan is a safe place, we've proved it."

Aqeel went on to explain that going in the next round without playing is not the ideal way for him, and a team refusing to come to play in Pakistan has more negative affects.

"It would've made a lot of difference to play and win," said Aqeel. "We had a good chance to win against them. But the spirit of the sport is to try and play. It is our loss, although we've cruised into the next round. If they had come, we could've promoted tennis more and it sends out a bad message. We were preparing for this tie in full-swing."