US Open Doubles Finalist Aisam-ul-Haq - Winning hearts and minds
Aisam-ul-Haq, a 30 year old Pakistani tennis sensation has proved that through the beautiful platform of sport one can achieve success not only in terms of winning a match or a tournament; but also by spreading the message of peace, love and tolerance through the game. This year’s men’s doubles final at the US Open has been a great exemplar of that.
In the final, Aisam and his current Indian tennis partner Rohan Bopanna lost the match against top-ranked Mike Bryan and Bob Bryan (the Bryan Brothers) by 7-6, 7-6. In the post-match ceremony, Aisam-ul-Haq spoke passionately about the negative perception of his country in the eyes of many Americans.
"I want to say something on behalf of all Pakistanis," he said, "Every time I come here, there's a wrong perception about the people of Pakistan. They are very friendly, very loving people. We want peace in this world as much as you guys."
He was greeted by cheers, applause and a standing ovation. He was addressing a crowd of about 15000 spectators at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York.
This speech had come on a timely occasion as it took place just a day before September 11th and it was delivered in the very city where the terrorist attacks had taken place back in 2001 – the city of New York.
This is just one of the many peaceful gestures made by Aisam since he started playing international tennis. In 2002, he paired up with Amir Hadad, an Israeli player, for Wimbledon and the US Open. Both players received immense criticism from their respective countries on playing together. However, despite the pressure the duo continued playing together and due to their staunch commitment with one another, they won the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year Award.
Similarly, Aisam teamed with Rohan Bopanna of India for the first time in 2003 for the Manchester trophy and they reached the semi-finals of the tournament. Even though the pair was initially censured as they belonged to arch-rival countries, they were later showered with praise and are still popularly known as the Indo-Pak express. They have performed brilliantly in 2010 by reaching the quarter finals of Wimbledon and the final of the US Open.
Both the players are also ambassadors of peace of their respective countries and have also launched a campaign called “Stop War Start Tennis”, with the ultimate goal of playing a tennis match on the border joining India and Pakistan.
Watching the US Open Men’s doubles final 2010 was by far one of the most memorable occasions for both India and Pakistan, as for the very first time tennis lovers of both the countries came together and cheered for the same side. The UN Ambassadors of both the countries sat side by side and watched the match together.
Even though the Indo-Pak Express might have lost the final this year, they have been victorious by winning the hearts of millions of tennis fans all over the world.
They have been triumphant in spreading the message of peace, religious tolerance and political harmony, the three basic traits that the politicians of the sub-continent and those of the world lack.
It was one of those momentous occasions where tennis fans of both India and Pakistan were not saddened by the loss, as there is so much that the pair has achieved. Aisam and Bopanna’s efforts off the court have been given more credence, praise and respect.
Aisam’s stance has been that the beauty about sports is that it transcends race, caste, boundaries, colour, religion and creed.
“We always said sports can reach places where no religion or politics or politician can reach, “ Aisam said in a press conference before the men’s doubles final, adding “And like Rohan says all the time: If you can change few personal people’s mind on Indian or Pakistan’s side, I think it’s a great thing.”
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