PM urged to save future of tennis star Samir

LAHORE: Former Pakistan Davis Cup player and expatriate Khawaja Tayyab Iftikhar has appealed to Prime Minister Imran Khan to intervene for the sake of national cause and to save the future of his underprivileged son Samir Iftikhar.

Tayyab, who is son of renowned Indo-Pak tennis legend Khawaja Iftikhar Ahmad (Tamgha-i-Imtiaz), maternal uncle of tennis star Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi and father of US-based British expatriate Pakistan’s top professionally-ranked Davis Cup player (2018) on ATP Professional Circuit, Samir Iftikhar, has said that he has got no positive response on his appeal to PM Iran Khan’s complain cell and visit to Bani Gala to seek appointment in November 2018.

He urged the PM to look into the huge discrimination vetted to him and his underprivileged son Samir. “Samir was refused equal opportunity, which is the fundamental right of every citizen and if no immediate action is taken, the country will not only lose a proven talent found after years but it will also waste my lifetime investment on my kid. It will also highly discouraging to the children of expatriates like Samir to represent Pakistan in future,” he said. Tayyab said Samir has left the perks of his birth place UK to serve Pakistan and carried family legacy in 2009 after he, the father, spotted Samir’s talent in 2008. “Samir had moved to UK after my separation in 1998, where he was picked up by British national junior development programme. I persuaded her mother Lindsay Iftikhar to allow him represent Pakistan and carry family legacy, which she agreed on my assurance that he would be fully looked after by Pakistan government, if he would deliver at national and international levels.”

Samir, who obtained special exemption from his school in UK to enable represent Pakistan on the ITF Junior World Ranking Circuit during 2009 to 2011, made Pakistan proud by becoming first player since 1999 after his cousin Aisamul Haq Qureshi to win four back-to-back ITF Junior World Ranking titles and represented Pakistan at Australian Junior Open in 2010 for which he was handed medal of ‘sporting excellence’ with cash award by the then PM Yousaf Raza Gilani.

He further proved his enormous talent by becoming first junior in Pakistan tennis history to win national men’s singles and junior singles titles simultaneously in December 2010 ousting top seed Aqeel Khan in the final. After this feat, he was awarded a golden opportunity to gain international exposure and serve Pakistan in future with l4-year academic and athletic scholarship at University of New Mexico from 2011 to 2015. In 2011, ZTBL president invited him in person to congratulate and appreciate his performance on national and international levels and gave a job in ZTBL as tennis team player during his four years at university and assured of permanent position as AVP in the bank with job security provided. It is on record that Samir took special exemption and took 35 hours long flight from other side of the globe to defend Pakistan on call between 2011 to 2015 and played pivotal role in Pakistan first ever win against Indonesia in Davis Cup Asia Oceana semifinals in July 2015 with 4 hour 20 minutes victory. After his graduation, he has set 2 unprecedented academic world records at US institutions including World Renown IVY league Universities such Harvard, Yale but today he is waiting to be honoured by PM. Samir iftikhar is currently only tennis player on record after Aisam, who has proven his talent in ITF Junior and ATP Professional Circuit.

“I pledge to PM to intervene and look into the discrimination vetted to me and my son by false promises made by where he is on verge of leaving the game. If government fulfills its promise of providing sponsorship to compete on ATP Professional Circuit in 2019/20, he is capable enough to excel in international events and win laurels for Pakistan,” Tayyab concluded.