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Thursday March 28, 2024

Pak players excited to play in front of home crowd

By Abdul Mohi Shah
February 02, 2017

Iranian team captain says Islamabad is a safe city

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan tennis stars are excited at the return of Davis Cup to the country. They say that playing in front of home crowd brings the best out of a player.

Pakistan face Iran in a Group II tie from Friday (tomorrow) at the

Pakistan Sports Complex courts.

In a briefing at a local hotel, both Pakistan and Iran claimed that their teams had the capacity to win the tie.

“Obviously excitement is there. Believe me getting back the Davis Cup hosting rights after 12 years is not something small,” Rashid Malik, the non-playing captain of Pakistan team, said. “Every player in the team is eager to give his best. They have been waiting for a long time to play in front of their home crowd,” he added.

Rashid thanked International Tennis Federation (ITF) for allowing Pakistan to host the tie. “It was long overdue. The law and order situation in Pakistan, especially in Islamabad, is possibly the best you can find in South Asian countries. Hopefully this tie will lead to the return of international sports to Pakistan,” Rashid said.

Aisam-ul-Haq said he had been waiting for over a decade to play in front of home crowd. “I have played all around the world but rarely in Pakistan. For the last 12 years I have been waiting for this opportunity. You cannot imagine how excited we are to get a chance of playing in front of home crowd,” he said.

Aisam added that in partnership with Aqeel Khan he had never lost a home tie before. “We have beaten the best of teams, including Korea, Thailand and China, at home. We have combined to beat the best in Asia and I am confident that the trend will continue,” Aisam said.

Aqeel was also eager to show his class. “I have always performed to the best of my abilities in domestic tournaments. At the twilight of my career I want to show my tennis prowess for my country at home. I am excited to see the return of the tie to Pakistan,” he said.

He added that Pakistan tennis future was now safe. “We have the backup ready now. There are a few very good players. They have got every talent to carry on for Pakistan after I and Aisam retire from singles event.”

Saeed Ahmadvand, Iran’s non-playing captain, was in no mood to discard his team chances. “Pakistan is an experienced side but when it comes to Davis Cup, our team has equal chances of winning it. We have come out of two weeks training in Bangkok where we played against the best of Thai players. That training has helped us a lot,” he added He was not happy to see his team getting confined to hotels and courts. “We want to see the city but were asked to stay inside. I know well that Islamabad is a safe city but we are not allowed to go out.”

Saeed had no complaint against the host country as he believed it was the ITF which had restricted their movement. “I know well Pakistan government has nothing to do with it. They are doing it under the ITF and match-referee’s instructions.”

Saeed had no answer when asked why earlier they refused to visit Pakistan.