LAHORE-Punjab Lawn Tennis Association (PLTA) Secretary General Rashid Malik (Tamgha-e-Imtiaz) has announced the extension of the Sports Board Punjab (SBP) High Performance Tennis Training Camp, offering increased benefits to budding players.
During a meeting with Secretary Sports and Youth Affairs Punjab Shahid Zaman, Rashid Malik said: “We decided to extend this camp and invite all those juniors who are willing to work hard and can’t afford good coaches. They will be provided with all the basic and necessary facilities as well as coaching under the top-class coaches supervised by myself.
“The SBP High Performance Tennis Training Camp and SBP Summer Camp for juniors are being held simultaneously and I am grateful to Secretary Sports Punjab Shahid Zaman, Director General Sports Punjab Dr Tufail Asif and the entire Sports Board Punjab team for this fruitful activity that will surely help in shaping their destinies for the better,” he added. Malik emphasized the importance of the Junior Tennis Initiative (JTI) program, saying, “Full concentration should be given to the Junior Tennis Initiative program. We have sent invitations to all schools to join this program throughout the year, with a special focus on children aged 5 to 10 years.”
The PLTA Secretary expressed optimism that with visionary individuals like Shahid Zaman leading the way, all sports in the region could flourish at the international level. However, he also lamented that many sports officials were indulging in politics, calling for their exposure to protect the integrity of the games.
“People in federations need to be professional, helpful, and supportive. When tennis affairs are tainted with politics, and those undeserving are favored, the standard of the game inevitably declines,” Malik concluded.