LAHORE - Former Davis Cupper Hameed ul Haq has expressed reservations about Aisamul Haq Qureshi’s nomi­nation for the position of President of the Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF), cautioning that it may have adverse effects on Pakistani tennis and its players. 

Hameed, a recipient of the Presidential Pride of Performance award, voiced his concerns, saying, “While it may seem that a tennis player could bring about change in Pakistani tennis, in his case, it may prove far from such an assumption.” He highlighted financial issues, say­ing, “During Aisam’s long tennis career, he took an appearance fee of US$3000 per each Davis Cup tie, forcing the PTF management to al­locate a significant portion of their budget to him and another player.” 

Hameed emphasized the potential conflict of interest if Aisam is elected as PTF president, asserting, “If under some circumstances, he is elected as PTF president, he would be present­ing a budget which will fill his own pockets in terms of appearance fee, which will prove to be a bigger joke.” 

He further criticized Aisam’s in­fluence on team selection, saying, “Aisam has forced PTF to nominate himself captain, coach, and man­ager in addition to selecting team members himself while also com­peting as a player.” Hameed provid­ed specific instances, such as Aisam taking a junior player on PTF ex­pense without trials and forcing the inclusion of his personal masseur for a Davis Cup tie. 

Hameed also pointed out the impact on other players, noting, “Aisam went to participate in the re­cent Asian Games but never played in the singles event. This move robbed the current Pakistan No. 1 tennis player Muhammad Shoaib’s chance of participating in the Asian Games singles event for Pakistan.” 

Highlighting the issue of conflict of interest, Hameed said, “Aisam’s nom­ination as President PTF will prove to be a conflict of interest as he has ACE Academy to look over, and fulfill­ing the duties of President of a tennis federation couldn’t be performed in parallel.” In conclusion, Hameed urged affiliated units to carefully consider the situation before voting for any candidate, advocating for in­dividuals with managerial skills and administrative backgrounds who can attract sponsors to be elected to the PTF President office and lead Paki­stan tennis to new heights.