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Pakistan No.1 tennis star Aqeel Khan believes it was hard to find a pair like him and Aisam ul Haq Qureshi in the country nowadays, as the current players lack passion and focus.

“I was lucky to play along Aisam at a time when he was involved in international tennis. This proved beneficial for us and together we went on to win many laurels for the country,” he said in an interview to a private news channel.

Also See:- Aisam Ul Haq & Aqeel Khan Beat Korea in the 1st round of Asia Oceania Group one Davis cup tie

Aqeel said but now a big gap was seen when he looks behind like a duo like him and Aisam. “We can get a player like anyone of us but not a pair. There is plentiful of talent in the Pakistani players and they also have got all the international level facilities but they lack passion and focus,” he said.

The prolific tennis player, who won a bronze in the Tennis singles event at the Islamic Solidarity Games in Makkah, Saudi Arabia 2005, said these days a player just comes in a court, plays routine tennis and goes. “Players don’t know about hitting the new shots and techniques or they don’t even want to try them out,” he said.

Aqeel, who turned pro in 1998 and played his first Davis Cup match here in Islamabad beating Sanjeev Tikaram of Pacific Oceania by 6–1, 6–3, said now when a player out of the tennis court, he gets indulged in other activities and forgets about the game.

“Nowadays mobile phones and social media have grabbed all the time and attention of the players. A player won’t excel in tennis if he won’t care about the game,” he said.

Aqeel, who won a Satellite title in India in 2005, said he can still play tennis as he was fit and fitness was very important for the game.

“I still play with the same passion like when I was in the under-14s. I still care for my match today and for me the passion and zeal for the game will always remain like this,” he said.