Dirty politics affecting Pakistan tennis

ISLAMABAD - Dirty politics has engulfed the Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF), which has been divided into several groups on the issue of national trials and the venue of the Fed Cup.

The rival groups have started criticising each other openly, the Daily Times reports.

Shahida Kausar Farooq, a member of the PTF and chairperson of Subh-e-Nau, an NGO that organises tennis tournaments regularly, asked the federation to clarify the situation regarding the camp for the Fed Cup team.

“I talked to PTF secretary general Mumtaz Yousuf, but he did not give any clear answer. The PTF office administration has also shown their ignorance on the matter,” she alleged.

Farooq said although Ushna Sohail was Pakistan’s No.2 and a good player, open trials would be held to ascertain the players who were best in terms of form and fitness to represent Pakistan in this important event.

“Parents of other players and Subh-e-Nau are concerned that Ushna and her coach Rashid Malik are being preference over other players and other coaches. Ushna has yet to prove her fitness on court, while she has also not attended the trials,” she said.

In response, the PTF announced that it would not bow to any pressure tactics, and would follow merit in all its affairs.

“Taking cognizance of malicious attempts to politicise the issues of the PTF by certain quarters, the management now accords priority to make decisions on merit, shutting door forever for foul play,” said Irshad Bhatti, one of the newly elected senior vice presidents, in his statement.

“The newly-elected body is poised to infuse professional approach in the federation, and will not let any individual or group manipulate things,” he added.

Meanwhile, it has been learnt that some top coaches, who brought PTF president Syed Kaleem Imam in the federation, had also developed differences, and were adopting pressure tactics to have their say. (ANI)