Yasir may be Aqeel Khan’s backup
Pakistan Davis Cup coach Mushaf Zia said that the country’s number four Yasir Khan has the talent to replace his brother.
KARACHI:
Pakistan Davis Cup coach Mushaf Zia has said that the country’s number four Yasir Khan has the talent to replace his elder brother Aqeel if he improves his physical fitness.
Aisamul Haq and Aqeel Khan, who are Pakistan’s top two players, were ousted by New Zealand 3-2 in the in the Asia/Ocean Group II Davis Cup semi-finals. Yasir and Jalil Khan accompanied the team, but Zia still opted for Aqeel and Aisam, who had been playing non-stop for 17 weeks, for all the matches. New Zealand, on the other hand had used all of their four players.
“I had only used Aisam and Aqeel because they play better than Jalil and Yasir even when they are tired,” Zia told The Express Tribune. “I think Jalil has gone past his time so Yasir is our only hope if he can improve physically.”
After the Davis Cup, the 21-year-old Yasir feels that watching the young New Zealand players giving a hard time to the 30-year-old Aqeel and Aisam makes him feel deprived of international matches and believed that the coach could have used him in at least one of the matches.
“I know I am not as good as Aqeel but I think this was the first time that I felt redundant. How will I ever improve if I don’t get enough international exposure?” said Yasir.
Yasir has withdrawn from the National Tennis Championship that starts on August 2, in order to prepare for the sports scholarship that has been offered to him by the Western New Mexico University. He also claimed that tennis was a dying sport in Pakistan, and that the only option for him is to fly abroad and play there.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 19th, 2010.
Pakistan Davis Cup coach Mushaf Zia has said that the country’s number four Yasir Khan has the talent to replace his elder brother Aqeel if he improves his physical fitness.
Aisamul Haq and Aqeel Khan, who are Pakistan’s top two players, were ousted by New Zealand 3-2 in the in the Asia/Ocean Group II Davis Cup semi-finals. Yasir and Jalil Khan accompanied the team, but Zia still opted for Aqeel and Aisam, who had been playing non-stop for 17 weeks, for all the matches. New Zealand, on the other hand had used all of their four players.
“I had only used Aisam and Aqeel because they play better than Jalil and Yasir even when they are tired,” Zia told The Express Tribune. “I think Jalil has gone past his time so Yasir is our only hope if he can improve physically.”
After the Davis Cup, the 21-year-old Yasir feels that watching the young New Zealand players giving a hard time to the 30-year-old Aqeel and Aisam makes him feel deprived of international matches and believed that the coach could have used him in at least one of the matches.
“I know I am not as good as Aqeel but I think this was the first time that I felt redundant. How will I ever improve if I don’t get enough international exposure?” said Yasir.
Yasir has withdrawn from the National Tennis Championship that starts on August 2, in order to prepare for the sports scholarship that has been offered to him by the Western New Mexico University. He also claimed that tennis was a dying sport in Pakistan, and that the only option for him is to fly abroad and play there.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 19th, 2010.