KARACHI: Pakistan No 1 Aqeel Khan has expressed joy on Sri Lanka’s triumph in the Davis Cup contest on their soil that earned them a promotion in group two in 2012.
“I’m happy that Sri Lanka topped the eight-nation Davis Cup Asia Oceania Zone group three competitions played on the round robin league in Colombo,” the Davis Cupper, who had a 15-day coaching stint with the Islanders earlier this month, told Dawn.
Aqeel, who is presently training in Islamabad for Pakistan’s Davis Cup group two second-round rubber against South Korea slated for July, said Sri Lanka’s non-playing captain, players and officials talked to him on phone and eulogised the hard work put in by him (Aqeel) ahead of the event.
“They were upbeat about the achievement and advancing to the next group,” he added.
It is pertinent to mention that the Sri Lankan Tennis Federation officials who were “satisfied” with Aqeel’s coaching strategy have offered him another three-month contract and are looking forward to utilise his (Aqeel’s) services again.
Besides Sri Lanka, Lebanon, which finished at the second spot, also progressed to group two in 2012. By occupying the last two slots UAE and Myanmar were relegated to group four in 2012.
Meanwhile, the President of Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) Kaleem Imam spoke to Aqeel and hailed the role he had played in Sri Lanka’s victory.
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