KARACHI  - Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi’s dream of representing Pakistan at the London 2012 Olympics was quashed after he failed to receive a wildcard entry from the International Tennis Federation (ITF). ITF announced its wildcard nominations for the London Games on Tuesday and in a fateful turn of events, both of Qureshi’s current and former men’s doubles partners earned a berth each for the Olympics. Jean-Julien Rojer of the Netherlands, Qureshi’s current partner, earned a place along with his compatriot Robin Haase.
Meanwhile, his former doubles team-mate Rohan Bopanna also earned an entry with his current partner Mahesh Bhuphati. The Indian duo made it to the list following a week-long brawl with the All Indian Tennis Association over the nomination of doubles teams. Amidst the drama, however, Qureshi failed to qualify on the basis of his ranking (12) as he had to earn a top-ten ranks to make the cut. However, it was being reported that the 32-year-old could make it to London on the basis of a wildcard entry. As the Pakistan Tennis Federation and Pakistan Olympic Association squabbled over whose responsibility it was to nominate for the wildcard spot. Qureshi failed to make an impression on the game’s central body (ITF) and will now have to wait for another four years in order to make a bid for Olympic qualification.
Qureshi is set to play his first-round match at Wimbledon on Wednesday along with Rojer.