Aman ki Asha Ambassador Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi is already known for his championing the cause of peace. After meeting unbeaten champ Esther Vergeer, he has another cause to champion: wheelchair tennis
Tennis ace Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi, the Pakistani half of the ‘Indo-Pak Express’ along with his Indian doubles partner Rohan Bopanna, is not just a tennis champ. He is a young man with a big heart – a heart that beats for peace, as acknowledged by the various honorary positions he holds – UNDP Ambassador of Goodwill, Peace and Sport World Forum of Monaco’s Champion for Peace, and not least, Aman ki Asha Ambassador.
Inspired by the Dutch player Esther Vergeer, Aisam has now picked another cause to champion: wheelchair tennis.
Qureshi relates that he was amazed when he read a report about Vergeer, who has won 401 tennis matches without a loss – a record that dates back to 2003.
He was even more impressed by the fact that Vergeer has never lost a singles match in a Grand Slam competition.
Qureshi said he was shocked when he first heard about Vergeer’s accomplishment. “What an amazing achievement in our sport. She is an inspiration. I told my coach that I wanted to meet her [Vergeer] and find out how she has managed to achieve so much.”
While touring Australia recently, he had the opportunity to meet Vergeer and actually train with her at the Melbourne Park Tennis Complex. For her part, Esther Vergeer was happy that Aisam wanted to do something for wheelchair tennis.
“The fact that Aisam wants to be involved and do good things for wheelchair tennis, I think that is amazing,” she said. “He is already spreading a message of peace through tennis, and wheelchair tennis is part of that because wheelchair tennis is going to be big, especially for the soldiers from wars.”
“In my rehab centre I got introduced to sports when I was eight years old,” explains Vergeer. That was in 1990. She had a spinal defect and a brain hemorrhage for which she underwent surgery – that left her paralyzed from the waist down.
“I thought there are a lot of things that I would never be able to do anymore, but in tennis, the main thing for me was that people didn’t stare at me – I wasn’t weird in tennis or in disabled sports and that just made me feel so good and made me realise that there was still so much out there. I will never be as good as the able bodied folks and that’s okay. I try to do my best and I like it.”
Her new friend Qureshi has a slightly different take on the matter. “Normal athletes take things for granted, we have backaches and we start moaning. We twist our ankle, and we start complaining. In contrast, Esther is full of motivation and inspiration and I think that’s great,” he said.
“More people should know about Esther’s achievements. We all know about Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer’s records, but none of them have achieved what she has achieved. I think it’s unbelievable.”
Qureshi and Vergeer enjoyed a ‘hit and giggle’, after which Vergeer invited the current world No 18 doubles player to a friendly match in a wheelchair, which Qureshi accepted enthusiastically.
“He’s an awesome tennis player so he’s able to hit the ball well, but then he needed to push or go from left to right [in the wheelchair] which he had some problem with. But it took me 20 years to reach this level, so it was good,” Vergeer said.
She added, “Wheelchair tennis players want wheelchair tennis to become bigger, and I think people injured from wars are potential wheelchair tennis players; so that’s good that they [Bopanna and Qureshi] really appreciate what we are doing and are trying to promote it.”
The tennis duo Bopanna and Qureshi or the Indo-Pak Express as they are known, are trying to remind people that sport is a universal language that facilitates dialogue. Their humanitarian campaign Stop War! Start Tennis! Is an effort to promote peace through sport. Qureshi’s friendly game with Vergeer will hopefully also give a boost to wheelchair tennis.
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