Abid Akbar, the 20 year old tennis star from Pakistan
Abid Akbar the 20-year old tennis prodigy from Pakistan, is yet another sensational player to follow in the footsteps of Aisam ul Haq. Aisam ul Haq is in the process of creating history for being the first Muslim and Pakistani player to reach a Grand Slam final, by reaching the US Open mixed doubles, and men’s doubles final simultaneously. Aisam is one of the highest ranked Pakistani tennis stars, and following in his footsteps we find the young Abid Akbar trying to make his way on to the international tennis circuit.
In 2009 the University of Idaho Tennis director announced the signing of talented men’s player Abid Akbar for the 2009 season. Before joining the Vandal program of the University of Idaho, Abid’s record boasts a career 27 tennis titles in Pakistan, in both the junior’s and men’s national events. Abid was ranked at number 4 in the national circuit of Pakistan, before he departed for his Idaho University on a sports scholarship.
During most of his career he has been ranked amongst the top tennis players of the Pakistan national circuit. The 20-year old and his family are not new to the world of tennis. His father, Ali Akbar, used to play collegiate tennis at Clemson and represented as captain of the Pakistan Davis Cup Team while his brother, Babar played tennis for Charleston Southern.
Abid in the year 2009, went through to the semi-final rounds of the National Clay Court Championship, The Governor’s Cup and the Rahim Yar Khan National Tennis championship.
“Abid is a strong student and a physically strong player with a great work ethic”, Jeff Beaman the director of tennis at the university said. “He is tall at six-foot, three-inches and generates a lot of power with his shots. I look for Abid to make an immediate impact in our line-up in both singles and doubles. I see him as one of the pieces of the puzzle that takes us into the national rankings next spring and moves us toward competing for the WAC title”.
On 18th August 2010, Abid was one of the six University of Idaho tennis players who won the Scholar-Athlete individual award from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. Abid helped his University Tennis team continue their winning streak with their sixth victory in a row.
Pakistan is a country with little tennis infra-structure but yet with the absolutely remarkable performances of Aisam ul Haq on the international circuit one thing is for certain that the Pakistani players promise a lot of talent. At only 20-years of age, the young Abid has a long way to go, but one can surely hope that he would not have to face the hurdles that Aisam had to face when he started off with his tennis career. Aisam had finished no 7 in the world in junior tennis defeating Andy Roddick before turning pro in 1998. One can surely hope that Abid Akbar would follow in Aisam’s footsteps as the next tennis star of Pakistan.
“The Pakistan Tennis Federation needs to be more devoted towards the sport and the players, and there is a need for more tournaments on the national level that have been on the decline in the past few years”. Abid said. “There is a need to create a strong infrastructure to promote the sport in the country”.
Abid, who views Aisam as one of his inspirations in tennis, when asked as to how he viewed Aisam’s run in the US Open, stated, “Aisam’s performance is the biggest ever achievement by a Pakistani in the sport. Unfortunately however, he is hidden from the media who are busy covering the embarrassing stories of Pakistan cricket”.
Abid Ali Akbar will graduate from the University of Idaho in 2013, and Pakistani tennis fans will anxiously be awaiting his arrival on the international circuit along with other local players so that they would be able to carry the legacy of Aisam in the world of tennis.
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