Good Luck Aisam-ul-Haq

Adil Najam

Despite some reservations, there are many benefits to flying PIA. One is that you travel with other Pakistanis and invariably run into old friends and new acquantances. Last time I was flying to Islamabad I bumped into Imran Khan. This time flying in the same cabin to Karachi was tennis star Aisam-ul-Haq.

I did not know him from before, but thanks to the post ATP had carried on him - plus his over-sized tennis bag - I was able to recognize him. I went over and congratulated him on his recent performances and told him how proud we felt on his achievements. We also spoke briefly about his performance in the US Open. Which is where he was returning from.

In talking to him I found that he had not lost his last match, but instead he had to drop out of his final match because of an injury. Turns out that conceding that match also meant that his did not get to play against Federer on Center Court. What a match that would have been!

From my brief interaction with him, I found him to be someone who does actually make a great people’s ambassador for Pakistan. We wish him the best of luck. He seems ready to keep going and word on the street is that he is heading for the tennis Top 100. Good luck, Aisam!