JEDDAH, 21 April 2005 — Pakistan completed a golden hat trick in the First Islamic Solidarity Games by beating Indonesia in doubles final at the tennis court of King Fahd Sports City in Taif yesterday.
The gritty Pakistani duo of Essam ul-Haq Qureshi and Aqeel Khan needed two tiebreaks to win the marathon battle against Indonesian pair Paryma and Suwandi in 1 hour, 54 minutes 7-6, 7-6 and claim the third gold medal for Pakistan in three days.
Besides the doubles, Essam also helped win the gold in the team event and his singles victory gave him the record feat of being the only Pakistani athlete to win three golds in the games. Aqeel snatched two golds and one silver medal.
“I’m very glad to win in such a great event outside Pakistan. I’m feeling happy that I brought some respect to my country. Though we’re considered underdogs people had a lot of expectations from us back home,” Essam told Arab News in a telephone interview from Makkah, adding that “prayers of my countrymen and my parents helped. I thank God for giving me such an opportunity to win golds for my country.”
A bankable Pakistani tennis player, Essam will participate in the Davis Cup tie against Taiwan to be played in Lahore on April 29.
“This was the first time a Pakistan tennis star clinched three golds in three events. It was a tremendous victory,” said manager Pakistan tennis team Khalil Chughtai.
“This is an honor for Pakistan by enlisting their name in the medals tally of the First Islamic Solidarity Games. We are happy that we’re not returning back empty-handed,” he said.
Khalid Mehmoud, general secretary of Pakistan Athletics Federation said: “Despite being eliminated from eight events of the games, Pakistan are 11th among the top 20 in the medals race. This is just because of the fighting spirit of the players and the facilities provided by Pakistan Tennis Federation.”
