U.S Open 2010: Aisam-Rohan stun the world with their final run
The Indo-p**i duo, Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi have proved that everything is possible in this world by making history, as they advanced into the final round of the United States Open Doubles competition on Wednesday. The pair together got the better of Horacio Zeballos and Eduardo Schwank in a two-setter clash in New York. The final match score was 7-6 (5), 6-4.
The Indo-Pak pair have been criticised on a couple of occasions for playing together despite tensions between the two countries. The neighbouring countries have been through three battles since independence from Britain back in 1947 and spent most of the time in a state of distrust and tensions across the border.
However, this is sports and it reflects the talent of both sides, as clarified by Hardeep Puri who is an Indian ambassador.
The pair’s next clash is versus the top-seeded Bryan brothers, Mike Bryan and Bob Bryan from the United States of America, which is regarded as the most successful doubles team in the history of the game of tennis.
Aisam and Rohan, who often refer to themselves as the “Indo-Pak Express,” have been playing together for a couple of years now. Not much high-level tennis is played in Pakistan, so the 30-year-old Aisam had to look to his neighbouring side.
They started playing together back in 2003 and contested on and off since then. The duo got prominent earlier this season when both of them begun wearing sweat shirts with headlines reading “Stop War & Start Tennis” as being the member of a Monaco-based organization named Peace and Sport.
“We were never doubtful as far as the talent in South Asia is concerned. However, I am glad that our pair has made it into the finals of a Grand Slam doubles contest after being seeded as low as number sixteen to win the title. It is a good message for the fans out there who want to play tennis and pursue it as the career of their lives. It is definitely great news for both the countries,” said, Abdullah H. Haroon who is a permanent representative of Pakistan to United Nations.
It is the best showing of the India-Pakistan duo in a major event after a quarterfinal run at the grass court Grand Slam tournament earlier this season. Both of them also triumphed last month versus the Bryan brothers, so they are quite aware of the style of play of the American pair.
“Obviously, our good showing at a major event is not only great news for both of us only but it is a good message for the tennis followers of our countries. I have always supported the point that if me and Bopanna can get along so well on the tennis court, then there is no reason our countries cannot remove their tensions and stay normal,” said Aisam after the match in New York.
The Pakistani tennis star, Aisam has also made his way into the mixed doubles final of the United States Open tennis competition 2010 along with his partner Kveta Peschke at the Flushing Meadows. It seems like the right-handed Aisam is all set to give some good news to his country, which has been hammered badly by terrorist attacks, floods and more recently a cricket scandal that has badly affected the image of Pakistan all around the world.
Aisam, while commenting on terrorists in Pakistan said, “We do not have any born terrorists in our country. Our religion does not teach to harm anyone. But yes, we do have some extremists; however I feel in every religion, there are always some fanatics. But it does not mean at all that all of us are terrorists or extremists. We are a peace-loving country and fighting hard to cope with terrorism. Moreover, our people are sport-lovers and they want to play at the international level.”
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