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Gilani kudizes Aisam’s achievement
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A glance at Aisam's career
Aisam should get financial rewards: POA Chief
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has congratulated Pakistan's star tennis player Aisam ul Haq on reaching the finals of Men's Double and Mixed Doubles of the US Open Tennis Tournament.
The Prime Minister said that the whole Nation is proud of him for his landmark achievement and are praying for his success in the finals. He wished him the best in the finals and future career.
Pakistan's Aisam-ul-haq Qureshi who has created history by reaching in the US Open mixed doubles final and semi-finals of the men's doubles event with his Indian partner Rohan Bopanna was born in Lahore on March 17, 1980.
Qureshi hails from a family that had tennis running in its veins and took up tennis at the age of 14. His maternal grandfather, Khawaja Iftikhar, was the All-India champion before partition. At 16, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) sponsored him for two years.
He won the Pakistan International Junior Championships, the Casablanca Cup in Mexico and the LTA International Junior Championships in Roehampton. In the World Super Junior Championships, he beat Andy Roddick. By 18, he was a Top 20 junior player.
Since becoming a pro in 1998, he had won 53 doubles matches and lost 47. However, he has just one career title, which he won with Rohan Bopanna at the South Africa Tennis Open in February this year.
The Indo-Pak pair, nicknamed 'The Indo-Pak Express', is also supporting 'Stop War Start Tennis' movement. The two players from the two neighbouring countries flaunt T-shirts with this message on the court.
Qureshi is also a member of the "Champions for Peace" club, a group of 40 athletes committed to serving peace in the world through sport, created by Monaco-based international organisation Peace and Sport.
The nation is pinning high hopes on this hero to give the flood-hit country something to cheer on Eid. "I know my performances at this moment are very important for my countrymen.
I am eager to win and give them something to celebrate on Eid," he told a local television channel from New York.
President of Pakistan Olympic Association (POA), Lt Gen (Retd) Syed Arif Hasan, Thursday urged the Ministry of Sports to announce financial incentives for tennis supremo Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi after he qualified simultaneously for two events in the prestigious US Open Tennis Championship.
Aisam will play the final of Mixed Doubles, alongside his partner Kveta of Czech Republic, on Thursday and will figure in the Men's Doubles final, in company with Rohan Bopanna of India, a day later.
"We will request the Ministry of Sports to grant special incentives to Aisam on his outstanding performance in the US Open 2010", Arif said.
"Aisam's sequence of victories in the two events is a great News for the Pakistani Nation at a time when our cricket team is in the grip of betting and spot-fixing allegations", Arif said.
"The whole Nation is proud of Aisam, Arif said "I personally phoned his family to convey our sentiment on Aisam's feat."
Aisam's father, Ehtisham-ul-Haq, told Arif that son's achievement was a result of the entire nation's prayers.
"He needs all the prayers and luck for the final again," he said.
Aisam belongs to a family that has been playing different sports. His parents helped Aisam in his professional career in tennis.
His mother, Nosheen Ehtisham, has herself been an amateur tennis player.
Arif said that in the Men's Doubles final both India and Pakistan fans will be cheering together for once since Aisam and Rohan Bopanna will team up with each other.-APP
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