Asian Games: 14-member soft tennis squad announced for little-known sport

Most players in the team have hardly ever played tennis. Pakistan Tennis Federation head Aisam-ul-Haq is also surprised at whose permission the soft tennis team in Pakistan is travelling to the Games with, and whether it has an association.

The national team will leave Islamabad for Japan on 14 September for the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, which run from 19 September to 4 October. It is likely that little-known players will slip through.

Pakistan’s overall performance at the previous, 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, held in September and October 2023, was also highly disappointing. It was one of Pakistan’s worst showings in the history of the Asian Games.

This time too, the Pakistan Olympic Association has announced that it will send a large group of little-known players. It includes a 14-member soft tennis squad.

Soft tennis does not exist in Pakistan. No events are held and there is no association for it.

Pakistan Tennis Federation head Aisam-ul-Haq expressed surprise at the sending of a large team for soft tennis. He said: “We did not even know soft tennis exists in Pakistan. I will check who runs it and with whose approval this team is going.”

He said there are not even as many events as the number of people being sent. He said the Pakistan Sports Board is destroying sports. According to him, anyone who can pay goes to any event. Tennis will be represented at the Asian Games by two players, a captain and a coach (four people).