The experience will benefit me, says Aqeel Khan

Pakistan’s top tennis player training hard for Asian Championship.

KARACHI: Pakistan’s top tennis player Aqeel Khan is all set to participate in the Asian Championship this month in Bangkok, Thailand.

Aqeel said that his experience at the Asian Championship will greatly benefit him in Pakistan’s Davis Cup Asia-Oceania Zone Group II tie against Vietnam as well.

Aqeel, who has dominated the domestic circuit for more than a decade now, feels that it is essential for him to participate in as many international tournaments before the Davis Cup ties to improve his game for next year.

“I’ll be playing in the Asian Championship main draw this month,” Aqeel told The Express Tribune. “I wanted to participate in this tournament last year as well but our visas weren’t arranged by the Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) on time.

“Therefore, I’ve managed to get everything done on my own. I’m extremely excited about the Championship. I’ve been training for over a month now. I know I’m ready for it.”

Meanwhile, Aqeel said that his aim will be to perform well and improve his game before the Davis Cup as well.

“It’s a good opportunity for me to compete against the best players in Asia. The experience will be invaluable because we’ll be playing with Vietnam after 2007. The Davis Cup is getting more competitive each year, so the Asian Championship will benefit me a lot.”

PTF to announce Davis Cup team this month

Meanwhile, PTF is also conducting trials for Davis Cup in Islamabad, with an aim of selecting two players from the domestic circuit, who will accompany Aqeel and Aisamul Haq Qureshi for the tie in February.

The trials featured nine players while the top four will compete for the selection today.

Aqeel’s younger brother Yasir Khan and Muhammad Abid are touted as the favorites to get the nod for the two slots. Both players represented Pakistan in Davis Cup earlier this year as well.

“It’s important for me to get selected,” said Yasir. “It’s about getting the exposure and representing Pakistan.”

Published in The Express Tribune, November 14^th, 2013.

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