LAHORE – Iman Qureshi, the 13-year old, eighth grade student of Lahore Grammer School, Defence had quite an eventful year, winning a number of international titles, making Pakistan’s presence felt at the junior level of the ITF circuit.
Iman finished the year at an overall 3rd position in Asia in 14 and Under Asian Tennis Ranking. She is the only Pakistani player to have achieved the honour. While playing in the Asian circuit, she managed to win two titles (in Allepo and Damascus, Syria), came second in Doha and was third on two occasions. She proved that despite limited resources and support back home, Pakistan can live up to the challenge.
While on vacation in Canada, Iman also took part in the Under-14 Toronto Championship organized by Ontario Tennis Association in which she successfully managed to reach the final and was the runner up. She was the only Pakistan player to have reached the final in her maiden appearance in a Canadian event.
At the national level, Iman is the National Under 14 champion and the under-18 category runner up, while she has also won a couple of inter-school competitions. Her prowess in the sport has also earned Iman representation for Pakistan in the ITF Asian Junior Championships to be held at Myanmar in January 2011, where she would hopefully raise the country’s flag high.
Iman, whose growth in the game is supervised by her father Omer Qureshi – an ardent sports enthusiast who plays football, basketball, tennis and golf – developed the instinct of a winner from a tender age. She started playing tennis at the age of eight at the Main Gulberg Tennis Club under the coaching of Mohammad Baber.
Later, her father brought her under the coaching of former Davis Cupper Rashid Malik. Currently Iman trains at Bagh-e-Jinnah’s tennis academy, with Malik horning her skills. She also has training sessions at the Lahore Gymkhana Club. Apart from Malik, former national champions and top players like Haseeb Aslam and Jalil Khan have also helped Iman correct technical faults and improve her strategy.
Besides tennis, Iman is also a good swimmer and has won breaststroke competitions at her school. She also likes to play basketball as part of her fitness regime. Apart from impressing in sports, Iman also secures A grades and is always among the top five in her class. The LGS Principal and her teachers are very supportive and appreciate her ability to keep a balance between sports and academics.
