‘My aim is to produce three or four Aisams’

Indian tennis coach looks forward to his stint in Pakistan.

KARACHI:

Indian tennis coach Birbal Wadhera will arrive in Pakistan aiming to hunt down the country’s future talent who can carry Pakistan ahead on the same lines as the players in India.

Wadhera has joined hands with the Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) to resurrect the sport and share his experience with the under-18 boys and girls as well as the junior players in a month-long camp that will be held next month.

“I’ve been following Pakistani players closely and there is tremendous potential,” Wadhera told The Express Tribune. “I chose to be with PTF instead of going to the US or UK because I’m more comfortable with the Pakistani people.

“Although my appointment is criticised by senior coaches, I will bring my experience that I gained from coaching the Indian Davis Cup squad. In India, tennis progressed because of the money in the sport.”

Wadhera is aiming to spot five to eight good players and after short-listing them, he will try and find corporate sponsors to take these players ahead. He added that the Indian players get more opportunities whereas even the most brilliant talent in Pakistan is wasted because the federation does not have enough money.

“Pakistani players seldom get to play international matches. I saw Tanveer Ashiq play and he was just brilliant. However, he couldn’t go further because he didn’t have any sponsors.”

Although in Pakistan for just a month, Wadhera termed the time inadequate but has vowed to pluck out ‘three or four Aisamul Haq’s’ by the end of the camp.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 19^th,  2011.