Visiting Indian tennis coach Birbal Wadhera said on Friday that international sports were gradually returning to Pakistan which suggests that the country is safe for hosting sporting events now after it remained in isolation for a long time in the aftermath of the ghastly terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore during 2009.
“Pakistan is coming out of a difficult situation gradually,” Birbal told Dawn on Friday.
“Sports have no boundaries and I have completely enjoyed my stay in Pakistan,” he added.
The coach disclosed that he spared some time to watch Afghanistan–Pakistan ‘A’ one-day match at Islamabad earlier this week and added that quite a few judo teams including India’s featured in an international event here recently.
The 33-year-old Indian coach who defied all odds by accepting the month-long coaching assignment, is due to leave Islamabad for Lahore on Monday on his way to Chandigarh where he runs a tennis academy.
The coaching clinic being conducted by Birbal, commenced at the Islamabad’s PTF Complex on May 5 and comes to an end on Saturday (today).
This was Birbal’s third visit to Pakistan, the first being in 2003 as coach of Indian team followed by a second visit in 2004 for a 15-day coaching stint.
A former ITF White Badge umpire, Birbal had supervised Grand Slam events like Davis Cup and Australian Open among others before taking up coaching in 2006.
Birbal, an ITF Level II qualified coach, said Pakistan has enormous talent and it’s time the government should promote the game on the lines of cricket to create a solid base.
“After a countrywide talent hunt, youth with potential should be picked and put in an academy for two to three years to nurture their skills,” he added.
“You need to categorise the players — U-12 to U-14, U-15 to U-18 and men — in order to give them special training rather than huddling them together in a camp,” he advised.
“My main focus of coaching was to improve physical conditioning, strength and technique of the players and I also conducted tests of all trainees at the start of camp and witnessed tremendous improvement after 20 days,” said Birbal.
“Altogether, some 40 players including Davis Cuppers and ladies, from all over the country, attended the camp in two phases.”
He replied in the affirmative when asked about the response of participants in the camp. “They grasped the tips quickly in a short span of time,” he said.
To a question, Birbal, who also holds diploma in coaching from Indian National Institute of Sports (NIS), said he was carrying back with him the love and warmth of people and would love to come back again if invited.
When approached, the PTF President Syed Kaleem Imam said Birbal’s willingness to coach in Pakistan at a time when foreign teams are reluctant to visit here has given a new lease of life to tennis in particular and sports in general.
“The PTF is indebted to Birbal for his gesture which will be remembered for a long time to come,” he said
news covered by dawn sports
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