Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi inaugurates Stop War Start Tennis Tour in Myanmar – Tennis News
Pakistani star, Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi, begins his Stop War Start Tennis Tour in Yangon, Myanmar on 12th December. He was accompanied by former ATP World Tour player, Jean-Philippe Fleurian, in a fundraising dinner.
The Pakistani number one along with Fleurian helped raise funds and hosted a Kid’s Day which featured 1000 children from 15 local schools. This event was to prepare the nation of the upcoming Davis Cup Asia/Oceania ties and the South-east Asia Games in the
upcoming season.
The president of the Tennis Federation of Myanmar, U Aung Maw Thein, commented in a press conference, “We are most grateful to the ATP for providing such special players like Aisam Qureshi and Jean-Philippe Fleurian for coming to Myanmar... Together they
proved that through tennis, our kids can learn to be happy, healthy and culturally tolerant.”
The keynote speaker of the event, Qureshi, expressed his views about how the ATP World Tour tennis teaches people to respect each other. He commented, “Tennis gives us the tools for a better life. Through tennis, I have experienced that sport can bring tolerance,
counter discrimination and eradicate prejudices. Tennis can serve as a bridge over troubled waters.”
Qureshi collected autographed shirts from the US Open champion Andy Murray, French number one Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Asian number one Kei Nishikori and the Paralympics gold medallist Shingo Kunieda at the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris. These shirts helped him
raise a total of $5,460 for the Tennis Federation of Myanmar orphans to tennis program.
The Pakistani star teamed up with an Israel’s Amir Hadad and picked up ATP’s Arthur Ashe Humanitarian award in 2003. He then paired up with India’s Rohan Bopanna two years ago and formed a bridge between the two nations.
The Pakistani, who was elected as a United Nations Development Project National Goodwill Ambassador two years ago, left Myanmar immediately after the event. He headed towards Kabul, Afghanistan where he will be the keynote speaker for the United Nations
Office on how sports can serve as a deterrent to drugs. He will also plan a wheel chair tennis program after meeting the Afghanistan Tennis Federation President.
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