PTF seeks NOC for Indian coach

ISLAMABAD, March 28: The Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) on Monday forwarded its request to the Interior Ministry for the issuance of No-Objection Certificate for the Indian coach Balbir Wadera, Dawn has learnt from a Sports Ministry official. The official said the request was received here at the Sports Ministry and was duly processed by the Pakistan Sports Board. "The PTF wants to have Balbir for almost 30 days as he will be training junior and senior players in Islamabad and Lahore," the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, stated. He said an early processing for the NOC would help the PTF meet its upcoming international assignments besides giving professional training to the youth. Meanwhile, a PTF spokesman said a core committee meeting featuring federation's president Kaleem Imam, senior vice-president Irshad Bhatti and Brig (r) Saleem Nawaz was held here to finalise modalities for the post of acting PTF president. He said Brig Saleem was formally requested to look after the PTF affairs since Kaleem was all set to leave for Sudan for around six months after being named as the chief police commissioner by the United Nations for the African country. The official informed the ZTBL had given jobs to leading tennis players like Samir Iftikhar, Sara Mansoor and Yasir Khan as per their respective qualifications. The official further said that Mahboob Khan had also been given the task of coaching ZTBL's tennis team. The modalities, he said, were decided during a meeting held between ZTBL's president Zaka Ashraf, PTF's president Kaleem Imam and Irshad Bhatti. The official said ZTBL's management also gave assurance to develop two hard courts.