Int'l Sports Stars Come In Support For Aisam

The international sports stars have come forward to support Pakistani tennis player Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi in his campaign aimed at providing relief to the people of Pakistan, affected by the COVID-19 pandemic

ISLAMABAD, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th May, 2020 ) :The international sports stars have come forward to support Pakistani tennis player Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi in his campaign aimed at providing relief to the people of Pakistan, affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I request the Pakistani nation to work as a team as to counter this situation," he said here at a press conference on Friday.

Aisam also urged the athletes to be part of the campaign which was aimed at distributing ration to 10,000 families after generating Rs 35 million by auctioning items donated by various sports stars.

Aisam said Switzerland's Roger Federer has donated his shirt and shoes for the cause. Federer had worn shirt in the Wimbledon 2016 semifinals against Milos Raonic where he graciously bowed out after a grueling contest, losing 6-3, 6-7, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3. The starting bidding price of the shirt was Rs five million.

"It is the first time a Frederer's memorabilia has come to Pakistan and you never know when it's going to be the second time," he said.

He said the pair of shoes the tennis great donated were worn at the Cincinnati Masters 2011 where he entered as a defending champion and progressed to the quarterfinal.

He further said Serbian professional tennis player Novak Djokovic who is currently ranked World No. 1 has donated a shirt he wore while playing the 2011 Australian Open final in which he beat Andy Murray by 6-4,6-2,6-3. "The starting bidding price of the shirt was also Rs five million," he said.

"World No 2 Spanish professional tennis player Rafael Nadal's practice shirt was also for auction which he wore during his campaign in the French Open 2018.

The asking price of the shirt is Rs 250,000," he said.

Aisam said he had contacted Indian Tennis Star Sania Mirza and told her about his campaign to which she was more than happy to donate her signed racket priced at Rs one million.

"Professional tennis players including Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, Russian Daniil Medvedev and Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas have also donated their racket to the cause," he said.

He said he was also donating his shirt and racket which he used during 2017. "That year was a very fruitful year for me as I won six titles and played one final," he said.

Aisam added that squash legend Jahangir Khan has also donated his signed "Special Edition 555" squash racket, which is a commemorative icon of his legacy. He said the price of the racket was Rs five million.

He said Cricketer Shoaib Malik has donated his shirt which he wore in his last ODI in the World Cup 2019 in England. "The shirt is signed by the whole team and is priced at Rs 2.5 million," he said.

Aisam said Hockey legend Shahbaz Ahmed Sr has donated his 1994 World Cup winning hockey which was priced at Rs five million. "Boxer Amir Khan has donated his gloves while former legendary pacers Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akhtar have also donated their signed cricket balls to be auctioned for the cause," he said.

Earlier he also thanked former Pakistani cricketer Mushtaq Ahmed who also joined him for the campaign. "Our campaign has been boosted by your presence," he said.