Hassan Tariq Rahim Masters Cup will start today

Lahore: The Lahore Gymkhana Tennis Club shall be holding “Hassan Tariq Rahim Masters Cup (Invitational) Tennis Tournament” from December 1st to 8th, 2013 at the hard courts of the Lahore Gymkhana Club. Opening ceremony of the tournament shall be held at 11:00 am on Sunday, December 1st 2013 at the hard courts of Lahore Gymkhana Club.

Pakistan’s tennis pride; AISAM UL HAQ QURESHI & AQEEL KHAN along with other top ranked players of Pakistan shall be competing in this week long tournament. This is for the first time that Tournament on format of recently held ATP World Tour Finals held in London is being staged in Pakistan.

The tournament Committee consists of Mian Imran Ahmad, Secretary Lahore Gymkhana Tennis, Muhammad Bakhsh, Secretary Punjab Lawn Tennis Association and Furqan Uddin Khan, Tournament Director.

Hassan Tariq Rahim, son of former Governor Punjab Khawaja Ahmad Tariq Rahim passed away this June at the age of 46 years, due to cancer. He was a very passionate club tennis player, who enjoyed and played tennis very religiously and was a very popular figure among the members of tennis club. In his commemoration and for promotion of tennis in Pakistan, the tournament is being staged.

The eight players invited in each category have been divided into two groups for singles & doubles. The top two players/teams from each Group shall qualify for the semi-finals. The singles matches shall be best of three tie-break sets, including the semi-finals & final. While the Doubles matches shall be two sets (tie-break) and a match tie-break. The Men’s Singles Group have been named after former tennis legends of Pakistan tennis; Khawaja Iftikhar & Haroon Rahim, while Women’s Group have been named after Perveen Sheikh & Taqi Butt. Men’s Doubles Groups have been named after senior members of Lahore Gymkhana Tennis Club; Khawaja Ahmad Tariq Rahim (KTR) & Azhar Hayyat Noon (NOON) and Boy’s Under-18 Group has been named after Usman Rahim; Red & Blue Groups.

It shall be after nearly a decade that AISAMUL HAQ QURESHI shall be taking part in a domestic tournament. The other players participating are Aqeel Khan, Yasir Khan, M. Abid Mushtaq, Usman Ejaz Yousaf, Usman Rafique, Jalil Khan, Heera Ashiq, Khurram Nazir, Shahzad Khan & Faizan Khurram. In Women’s Singles, Sara Mansoor, Iman Qureshi, Alina Aftab, Maheen Aftab, Rida Khalid, Mariam Mirza, Mahnoor Ali & Mehreen Izhar. While in Boy’s Under 18 Muhammad Mudassir, Arham Attique Khan, Hasnain Manzoor, Muhammad Muzammil, Hamza Bin Asif, Zaid Mujahid, Saad Zafar and Abdal Haider. In men’s Doubles category six teams/pairs have been invited from Pakistan top ten ranking, while wild card has been given to the pair of former Pakistan National Champion Jamil Ahmad & former Junior National grass court champion Imran Ahmad, whereas Imran Ali Asghar & Imran Bhatti winner of HTR Qualifying round matches held at the Lahore Gymkhana Club shall be the eighth pair. Muhammad Shahzad of Pakistan Tennis Federation shall be the Chief Referee.

The Press Conference was attended b Pakistan ace star Aisam Qureshi, Mian Imran Ahmad – Secretary Lahore Gymkhana Tennis Clun, Kh. Muhammad Bakhsh, Secretary Punjab Lawn tennis association, Furqan Uddin Khan, Tournament Director & Jamil Ahmad, former national Champion. Aisam praised the Tournament committee for taking initiative by holding tennis tournament on this format and for promoting tennis. He said although this is his rest period and the Tournament director had earlier contacted him to play in the tournament but due to bus international schedule he could not commit. But later on request made by Zulekha Aunty, for whom he has highest regard, he could not say no. He also said that he had grown up seeing Kh. Ahmad Tariq Rahim and Hassan Tariq Rahim playing on the first court of the main members courts and his desire to pla on the first court is still unfull-filled.

The outstation players are being provided with accommodation along with daily & conveyance allowances. Handsome prize money is being given to the participants of the tournament.