Tennis: Our youngsters aren’t good enough, says Aisam
Pakistan tennis ace, coach rue inadequate backup.
KARACHI:
Aisamul Haq Qureshi and Pakistan coach Rashid Malik have questioned the national tennis federation’s role in developing adequate backup, terming the current crop ‘not good enough’ to represent the country in Davis Cup matches.
Pakistan relied on Aisam and Aqeel Khan – both in their early 30s – in the 3-2 Davis Cup Asia/Oceania group II win over Lebanon but despite sealing the team’s progress, Aisam issued a stern warning to budding players and urged them to improve their game.
“The juniors have to start beating us at national level before thinking about representing Pakistan,” Aisam told The Express Tribune. “Aqeel has been Pakistan number one for the last decade and has been winning local events non-stop. Even in the Davis Cup, I didn’t want to play three days in a row but the coach didn’t have confidence in the youngsters so it was down to me and Aqeel to take Pakistan through.
“The gap between us and the youngsters is huge. They simply have to work harder if they want to take our places.”
Maik echoed Aisam’s views, confirming that he did not feel confident in resting Pakistan’s fortunes in the hands of Yasir Khan and Mohammad Abid.
“They’re talented but not capable of playing live Davis Cup matches,” said Malik. “If we were 3-0 ahead, we might’ve considered giving them a go but we made a decision in Pakistan’s interest. This is also a wake-up call for the federation. It needs to look at what it has done in the last 12 to 15 years and how we’re going to win after Aisam and Aqeel retire.”
Malik emphasised the need of targeting the 12-16 age-group and giving the youngsters five years of high-class coaching before expecting them to produce the desired results.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 21st, 2012.
Aisamul Haq Qureshi and Pakistan coach Rashid Malik have questioned the national tennis federation’s role in developing adequate backup, terming the current crop ‘not good enough’ to represent the country in Davis Cup matches.
Pakistan relied on Aisam and Aqeel Khan – both in their early 30s – in the 3-2 Davis Cup Asia/Oceania group II win over Lebanon but despite sealing the team’s progress, Aisam issued a stern warning to budding players and urged them to improve their game.
“The juniors have to start beating us at national level before thinking about representing Pakistan,” Aisam told The Express Tribune. “Aqeel has been Pakistan number one for the last decade and has been winning local events non-stop. Even in the Davis Cup, I didn’t want to play three days in a row but the coach didn’t have confidence in the youngsters so it was down to me and Aqeel to take Pakistan through.
“The gap between us and the youngsters is huge. They simply have to work harder if they want to take our places.”
Maik echoed Aisam’s views, confirming that he did not feel confident in resting Pakistan’s fortunes in the hands of Yasir Khan and Mohammad Abid.
“They’re talented but not capable of playing live Davis Cup matches,” said Malik. “If we were 3-0 ahead, we might’ve considered giving them a go but we made a decision in Pakistan’s interest. This is also a wake-up call for the federation. It needs to look at what it has done in the last 12 to 15 years and how we’re going to win after Aisam and Aqeel retire.”
Malik emphasised the need of targeting the 12-16 age-group and giving the youngsters five years of high-class coaching before expecting them to produce the desired results.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 21st, 2012.