The Indo-Pak Express Is Back!

By Parvez Fatteh, Founder of http://sportingummah.com, sports@muslimobserver.com

Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi of Pakistan (L) speaks with Rohan Bopanna of India (R) compete during their men’s doubles semi-final match at the recent APIA Sydney International tennis tournament. – AFP

Pakistani tennis star Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi and his Indian doubles partner Rohan Bopanna have reunited on the tennis court. The duo known best by the nickname “The Indo-Pak Express” finished as runners-up in the men’s doubles event of the Apia International Tournament in Sydney, Australia. This was only the second tournament that they had played together since splitting up as a doubles team at the end of the 2011 tennis season.

Qureshi and Bopanna scored an easy win over the team of Lukas Rosol and Joao Sousa in the semifinals with a 6-1, 6-2 score in only 44 minutes. However, the third-seeded Indo-Pak Express took on the top seeds Daniel Nestor of Canada and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia in the finals. And it ended up being quite a battle, with Bopanna and Qureshi going down in two tie breakers, 7-6, 7-6.

This was the last tune-up before the first Grand Slam tournament of the 2014 tennis season, the Australian Open. The prior week they won one round before going down in the quarter finals in Chennai, India. Bopanna, for his part, believes this is just the beginning of the Indo-Pak’s return to prominence. “Aisam and I have matured. Playing with other partners we got to know our strengths and weaknesses. I’m sure we’ll be a force to reckon with,” he told the press.

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