Aisam and Aqeel love to play in Delhi

NEW DELHI - Unmindful of the full-throated roar from the packed main court, where Indians were playing, Pakistanis Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi and his teammate Aqeel Khan were sparring on the practice courts outside at the R. K. Khanna Stadium complex. They were already out of the tennis competition at the Commonwealth Games, and yet they wanted to have a hit as they had fallen in love with the facilities.

Neither is a stranger to the Indian capital, having played in number of International Tennis Federation (ITF) tournaments and Challengers and they have fond memories of the city and the people.

Having won quite a few tournaments here and familiar with the conditions, they honestly believed they had a good chance of picking up a medal. They saw the medal more as a gift to India-Pakistan relations at a time when their country is going through political turmoil, chaos and floods. Alas, their hopes were dashed as the two made early exit from both singles and doubles.

“We wanted to win the medal for the country, but were short on practice. I specially had not played at all after the US Open,” said Aisam, who with India’s Rohan Bopanna reached the US Open doubles final last month.

Aqueel concurs. “Yeah, in all our matches we had so many break points which we could not convert. But that’s the way tennis is. You lose a match and you are out.”

The two, however, were keenly followed and supported during their matches.

“I have always felt at home in India. My grandfather Khawaja Iftikhar was the All-India champion before partition, I have not seen him but whenever I come here a lot of old-timers speak about him. Also, I think, it is because of Rohan,” Aisam said.

“The facilities here are fantastic. The practice courts suit my game. A lot has changed since we came here last. The venue can easily hold Tour level tournaments.”

Aqueel said he visits India two-three times a year even when he is not playing and has many friends here. “We have been here so many times, even when I am not playing in India I come here often. We had people cheering for us at the stands, which was not the case with other foreign players.

“In fact, when we were about to enter the stadium during the opening ceremony, I told Aisam that we are going to receive a good welcome. And that’s exactly what happened,” Aqueel said.

Curiously, no women athlete could be seen in the Pakistan contingent. “There was only one in the entire contingent, a shooter. It is really sad and unfortunate. We have women athletes and they wanted to come but the government did not allow. I don’t know why,” Aisam shrugged.

The two, representing their country in Davis Cup for a decade, are passionate about Pakistan tennis and hope the forced isolation of their country is over soon.

The image of Pakistan as a “terrorist” country hurt them and prompted Aisam to come up with his now famous speech at the Flushing Meadows, moving million hearts. “It has been happening for a long time, whenever someone sees my passport and finds out I am from Pakistan, I hear a “Oh!”. That’s not on. There are good and bad people in every religion.

“At US Open, I was not playing for prize money but for a bigger cause. Rohan knew about that and was very supportive. Pakistan is being viewed in a very wrong light.”

Aqueel proudly said: “He delivered a great speech. In fact, there was a big political debate in the Pakistani electronic media on his stirring speech. We hope things will now improve in Pakistan.”

“Stop War, Start Tennis” and “Love India, Love Pakistan” T-shirts Aisam and Bopanna promoted at the U.S. Open are the new slogans to improve relations between the two nations.

Qureshi feels things are indeed looking up and an ITF official will soon be visiting Pakistan to review the situation.

“After three years an ITF official has finally agreed to visit and see the facilities. I am not saying that it is because of my speech, but may be it could be a coincidence. Hopefully, we will be able to hold our next tie against Hong Kong in Pakistan,” Aisam said.

Aisam feels a lot of buzz in Pakistani tennis circles after India’s star Sania Mirza married Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Malik and he believes the authorities should cash in on it. “Sania is a well-known athlete and her presence will inspire Pakistani youngsters to take to tennis. We could hold exhibition matches and ITF tournaments to promote the sport. Pakistan has the facilities to hold these events.”

While Aisam has flown to Shanghai, Aqueel says he will be here till the closing ceremony to cheer the Pakistan athletes.