Lack of recognition saddens Aqeel Khan

ISLAMABAD: Aqeel Khan, who has smashed numerous records and led Pakistan to a comprehensive win against a powerful Slovenia team in the Davis Cup World Group I tie, said on Wednesday he did not receive a single call from any high ups to felicitate him on the achievement.

“You will not believe it but it is a fact that I did not receive a single call from any government official or high-up to acknowledge my and Aisamul Haq’s performance against Slovenia. We toppled a world renowned team fair and square. To my surprise no one even called to congratulate me on this success. I am sure it’s the same with Aisam.”

The national No 1, who has been serving Pakistan for over two decades, expressed his serious reservations on the policy-makers’ priorities. “Tennis is played in over 200 countries and one big upset earns laurels for teams. Unlike cricket that is confined to a few countries, tennis attracts audience from all over the world and gets more recognition. Here, it is the other way around. No one in the corridors of power seems to hold any value for our services.”

Aqeel said if the national cricket team had defeated even Zimbabwe or Bangladesh, felicitation messages would have been coming from everywhere. “What we did is hardly achieved by any other Asian country in tennis. We defeated a powerful Slovenia team and now the international fraternity will know the strength of our tennis in real terms.”

He praised Aisam, saying he always preferred representing Pakistan. “I am not talking about myself. Aisam can earn millions while staying abroad, competing in international tournaments or even training youngsters. But he always prefers playing for Pakistan. It is very unfortunate that he never gets the recognition he deserves.” Aqeel said if no one from the policy-makers pays heed to their exceptional, history-making efforts there was no need to make sports policies. “I think it is better to shut all other sports and allow only cricket if we cannot do justice with other sports,” he said.

However in a separate development, Federal Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination Dr Fehmida Mirza has congratulated Aisamul Haq and Aqeel Khan along with the Pakistan Tennis Federation management on winning the Davis Cup World Group I playoff tie against Slovenia. She hoped that Pakistan tennis will continue its surge ahead and appreciated the top players’ efforts to earn laurels for the country.