Islamabad, Jan 31 (PTI) For Hameed ul Haq, meeting India captain and coach Zeeshan Ali in Islamabad was like reuniting with his separated brother.
More than 36 years have passed since he visited Bengaluru but the former Pakistan Davis Cup captain vividly remembers how Zeeshan’s father, the late Akhtar Ali, would take care of the Pakistan players. He still remembers how he made the mistake of entering Trivandrum without a valid visa and was sent back by a DIG without causing any discomfort to him. Hameed, now 62-year-old, still remembers the generous act of Indian player Srinivasan Vasudevan who took him home when he was struggling to find accommodation in Bengaluru in 1987 when he had gone to the city to compete in a satellite tournament. He still remembers that Delhi food was as spicy as he would get in Karachi.
Hameed, honoured with the Pride of Performance (a title in Pakistan) in 2000, is gushing about the fact that an Indian team has come to Pakistan for playing tennis.
“Now that I am meeting the Indian contingent here in Islamabad, it feels like I have met my own brothers, who got separated. Coach Zeeshan Ali is a very good friend of mine. His father Akhtar Ali also used to help us a lot. He was like our father and coach, he was helping the Pakistanis a lot,” Hamed told
Source: PTI News
