Aqeel to miss out on Indian events

Aqeel Khan will have to wait another month to make a comeback in the ITF circuit.

KARACHI:

Aqeel Khan will have to wait another month to make a comeback in the International Tennis Federation (ITF) circuit as his tour to India has been postponed till May due to the delay in visa issuance.

Aqeel, who has not played on the ITF circuit for two years, was scheduled to take part in two ITF $10,000 Future series in India along with Samir Iftikhar and Yasir Khan. The players were planning to leave for Delhi on April 18 but had to pull out of both events.

“It’s disappointing that I will have to wait for another month,” Aqeel told The Express Tribune.

“I have not been able to play in any ITF Futures for the last two years due to funding issues. It is my gateway to better and bigger  tournaments. If I perform well in these events I can register for bigger tournaments.

“Missing out on these two events is costlier for me than for Iftikhar or Yasir. The young players are going to gain the experience but for me it’s about rankings. Right now I am missing two opportunities.”

According to Aqeel, the Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) has cancelled the tour to Turkey that was scheduled for June where Aqeel and Iftikhar were due to take part in two events.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 29^th, 2011.