Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi misses out on Olympic wildcard
Aisam-ul-Haq’s former partner Rohan Bopanna (pictured here) earned an entry with his current partner Mahesh Bhupathi, as did his current partner Jean-Julien Rojer. – File photo by AFP
KARACHI: Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi’s dream of representing Pakistan at the London 2012 Olympics was quashed after he failed to receive a wildcard entry from the International Tennis Federation (ITF).
ITF announced its wildcard nominations for the London Games on Tuesday and in a fateful turn of events, both of Qureshi’s current and former men’s doubles partners earned a berth each for the Olympics.
Jean-Julien Rojer of the Netherlands, Qureshi’s current partner, earned a place along with his compatriot Robin Haase. Meanwhile, his former doubles teammate Rohan Bopanna also earned an entry with his current partner Mahesh Bhupathi. The Indian duo made it to the list following a week-long brawl with the All Indian Tennis Association over the nomination of doubles teams.
Amidst the drama, however, Qureshi failed to qualify on the basis of his ranking (12) as he had to earn a top-ten rank to make the cut. However, it was being reported that the 32-year-old could make it to London on the basis of a wildcard entry. As the Pakistan Tennis Federation and Pakistan Olympic Association squabbled over whose responsibility it was to nominate for the wildcard spot, Qureshi failed to make an impression on the game’s central body (ITF) and will now have to wait for another four years in order to make a bid for Olympic qualification.
Qureshi is set to play his first-round match at Wimbledon on Wednesday along with Rojer.
Aisam we are proud of you! we definitely missed your presence in the Pakistani contingent while watching the Olympics opening ceremony…but remember olympics or no olympics, you are our hero! you'll INSHALLAH make it to the Olympics 2016.
Sad news…. I dont understand, How come he is not selected. He is the semi-finalist at french open, finalist of US Open, Won the Halle open twice in a row, Ranked with his partner at number 8 in Wimbledon this year and he doesnt gets selected for Olympics….. And just checking Andy Murray and his brother Jamie has been selected to represent GB in doubles, Elena Baltacha from GB who is ranked 101 in women is representing GB in women singles…so please explain to me why our Aisam is not selected to represent Pakistan.
never mind Aisam bahi . Meri dua k ap WIMBLEDON ka title jeeto.INSHALLAH wimbledon ka title jeet kr ap ITF k zabrdast jawab do gy. WISH YOU GOOD LUCK
Aisam, me and my wife shazia are great fan of yours, we feel that you are our son and we are proud parents, salam to your parents for giving us a person like you. This is really very heart breaking news for us as we were praying for your entry and win in Olympics for long time, this is another failure of Pakistani sports officials, you should try to appeal this decision! We love you and know that you'll do great in Wimbledon. You are true ambassador of Pakistan. We love to meet you in person, if you ever come to Toronto, Canada please give us a chance to meet you. Take care and good luck son.
Adnan Farooqui(Toronto, Canada)
I am a great fan of you Assam
Wish u the very best from all of India
We love you
We proud on YOU. You already won the Olympics title by winning our heart and your supporters are everywhere in the world with YOU. You are Super Hero like Shahid Khan Afridi…
v love u forever… Olympics no Olympics..
This is disappointing. We, in India, are also among his fans. His partner Rohan Bopanna will play doubles in the Olympics.
Aisam,…we are proud of you no matter what?
Use this setback as a fuel to do well in the Wimbeldon!
There seems zero support by Pakistani Government towards this National Hero.
God lad he is! I saw play in Chennai ATP tour..has built a good game since then!
Don't be discouraged by this decision You can still serve by focussing and winning the current events that your are scheduled to play. All the best.
Who deserves better than Aisam? The player who played US Open’s final and French Open’s semi final in last two years has not given a chance by ITF then I doubt sincerity and credibility of ITF towards Tennis. This seems like a typical sports decision against Pakistan.
Dont loose heart Aisam, you are doing great. Keep it up.
Robin Haase is #41 in singles and because of him Rojer goes to the Olympiad despite the fact that he is nowhere on the doubles ranking while AUH is 12th on the doubles ranking and he cannot. While not grudging Rojer's inclusion (which is not an issue) it shows how inept PTF is. AUH has shown great form and has won two titles lately. He has gone to the second round of Wimbledon and is expected to go further. PTF should appeal immediately against the decision. If nobody else gets affected by AUH's inclusion then ITF should have no objection. If AUH does not go to London then an inquiry should be conducted to ascertain if PTF or POA have been tardy.
It also shows how hard we as Pakistanis have to fight to receive a wild card entry as other players are easily granted a wild care..C'mon this is no justice at all!!!!
Aisam, we are proud of you and support you all the way. Give it your best at Wimbledon and Inshallah you will do fine!!
Feroze Parekh
Now should the dreamers in Pakistan should understand that their country does not stand any where with out indian sports no matter if it is cricket,Tennis or field hocky.All those who put pressure on Aisam-ul-Haq to pursue without Bopana becouse he himself can win any tournament without a partner from an anamy country were deadly wrong.bopana was a senior player and has Qualifyed for olympic in london.It should be wide awaking for Pakistani people,"want Cricket in pakistan ? Stop bad mouthing India at home and abroad".This is the only Mantra for sucess.
rubbish comment mr bhatia ..Aisam is a much better player than Bopana ..he was the semi finalist in French open and will beat the Indian pair in Wimbledon ..mark my words !
aisam along wth bopana for years have played together as peace ambassadors. we in pakistan are proud of both these lads as they have tried to do what billions accross the boders failed to understand for years. simple logic dude if we are together be it in a sporting event, uni parties or in a work place we share a lot in common. if we are representing our own countries than its a diff thing. we dont hve this hatred which can be seen frm ur comments. you are welcome on our sites but come nd give respect to our sporting heroes and come wth open heart. your all comments are welcome but come wth open and positive mind. take a lead frm bopana yaar, atleast you have a shinning example how he partnered with our asam and we as a nation used to pray fr both. we still are happy that bopana qualified and trust me we will be there in olympics and cheer fr bopana and pray fr his victory. its a shame people like you come on forums frm both countries and spoil the hardwork and goodwill of many. learn to respect others.
Not making any sense….AUH is one of the best subcontinent has produced. What has it to do with Indian connection. He is doing well . Bopanna had his own reasons to get separated and join with Mahesh to prepare for Olympics. Pls talk sense. Pakistan has its own reasons for not having international cricket there. It has nothing to do with India.
Never mind, Wimbledon is more important & Pakistan continues to be represented by you, no matter which tournament. Good luck!
Hard Luck Qureshi you can show ur qualities by winning the Wimbledon. Forget about Olympics work hard we are waiting for the first pakistani to win a Grand slam. Best of Luck for Wimbledon.