"The Indo-Pak Davis Cup clash will benefit us": Pakistan tennis fraternity

Pakistans tennis fraternity is hoping the India vs Pakistan Davis Cup clash in Pakistan will help inject fresh enthusiasm and provide a big boost to the game in the countryThe last time the Indian Davis Cup team visited Pakistan was in 1964 Since then this is the first time Pakistan is going to host an IndoPak Davis Cup clash The All India Tennis Association was not keen on sending the team this year too but the International Tennis Federation rejected its appeal and said that there is no specific reason that Indian players will face any security issues in PakistanAlso Read KL Jadejas injuries put hosts in trouble ahead of the Vizag test against EnglandAfter the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team bus in 2009 the sporting events in Pakistan were halted The country was not allowed to host worldlevel tournaments for sportsThe Pakistan Tennis Federation PTF could not host either junior ITF events or senior mens Future tournaments There were no womens events and no Davis Cup team travelled to Pakistan till 2017It badly hit Pakistan tennis which was nowhere near cricket in terms of popularity in the country as many promising players were forced to quit the game for lack of growth opportunities and exposureThe ones who were playing at the U14 level did not graduate to the mens level and competing abroad for ITF events is not easy either for Pakistani or Indian players considering the huge cost involvedThings began to change in 2017 when Iran sent its teams to Islamabad The arrival of Asian powerhouse Japan in 2021 also had a positive impactHowever nothing matches the excitement and anticipation when India and Pakistan compete in Pakistan The reactions of Pakistans top players AisamulHaq Qureshi and Aqeel Khan best summed up the excitement They are even hoping that this tie could pave the way for the arrival of the Indian cricket team in PakistanWe are very very excited and happy finally the Indian Davis Cup team is here I have always believed that we should keep politics religion culture away from sports Thats the beauty of the sport and being a sportsman I have always vouched for that Aisam the only Pakistan player competing on ATP Tour told PTIFor me its the most historical tie probably I am super excited to be part of it I think it is going to promote tennis in Pakistan definitelyAlready it has created hype that Indian team is there officially Hopefully it will break the barriers In this tie the security measures you will see I dont think there will be any problems or issues related to thatI would be happy if this Davs Cup tie pushes the Indian cricket team to come to Pakistan and help us see IndiaPakistan cricket matches as well Inshaallah there will be good atmosphere and a memorable tie for both the teamsAlso ReadIndias Divya Deshmukh alleges sexism in Wijk Aan ZeeAsim Shafiq national development director and also head coach of Pakistans National Tennis Centre shared how the country suffered in the last 12 yearsIn 2018 we had less than 2000 junior players registered with us After international tennis restarted the number went to 50000 from 2000 and the challenge was to retain them There is no concept of public courts in Pakistan Asim who was part of the Pakistan Davis Cup team that competed in Mumbai in 2006 saidIn Pakistan one has to be a member of gymkhanas clubs or clubs within the Forces to be able to play tennis unlike in India where a player can pay money to book a court and play However there are several football and cricket academies which are easily accessibleOnly 10 percent of those registered players can enjoy the benefits of memberships So how to retain those players after the age of 10 thats a challenge he saidHOW INDIAPAKISTAN TIE WILL HELPThe eyeballs that we are expecting to generate through this tie will be the best ever in history We used to run after the sponsors and now we are being chased claimed AsimIt has been learnt that there is an internal battle going on between the contenders like oil companies and banks as they seek to outbid each other to get the title sponsorshipWe were in wilderness in those 12 years But now when a huge team like India is in Pakistan it will give that boost There is no PSL and no match of national cricket team scheduled so timing is also great Asim saidBETTER COVERAGE IS EXPECTEDAqeel Khan firmly believes that this tie is different from other matches We have competed against the best Asian teams like Japan and Uzbekistan but the Indian team is different When India is here media gets involved fans get more excited and I am sure there is huge interest among sponsors also because more people will followIt will help Pakistan tennis overall because it will popularise the game further Tennis is not that popular in Pakistan so when matches will be against India it should fill that gap he saidWith PTI Inputs