Indian to coach tennis players

Wadhera hired for two months to train Pakistan female, under-14 players.

KARACHI:

The Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) has confirmed that Indian coach Birbal Wadhera will tour Pakistan and train Pakistan’s top female tennis players as well as selected under-14 players in order to improve their game.

Wadhera will arrive in Pakistan in the first week of May and it will be his second visit to the country after the tour of Islamabad. Meanwhile, in 2004, the PTF also announced that US-based Jalil Riaz will train the men’s team for the Davis Cup tie against South Korea that will be played in July.

“It was confirmed in our meeting last week that Wadhera will join us in the first week of May,” PTF Secretary Mumtaz Yousuf told The Express Tribune. “He will work with our top four female players and train the coaches while also holding camps for under-14 players during his two-month stay in Pakistan.

“His coaching will give some exposure to our players since he has been involved with the International Tennis Federation (ITF) events in India. It will be a good experience for all the players.”

Although the PTF is trying to resurrect the sport in the country, the players feel that it will not make a huge difference to their game. Pakistan’s leading female tennis player Sara Mehboob felt Wadhera’s appointment was a positive move but said that her father Mahboob Khan has been the best coach that she could have.

Meanwhile, Aqeel Khan believed that the PTF should invest more in better physiotherapists for him and Aisamul Haq Qureshi instead of hiring a coach from abroad just for the Davis Cup ties.

“Change is good but as far as me and Qureshi are concerned, we need more fitness training than coaching,” said Khan. “Coaches can’t change our game now. We are past the stage of changing the way we play. What we can learn though is different drills. We can try different techniques, but what we need is a good physiotherapist who can help us with our fitness and stamina exercises so that we can last longer in five-set games.”

Published in The Express Tribune, April 5^th,  2011.