By IANS
Dubai : Former Indian Davis Cup player Zeeshan Ali has been appointed the permanent coach of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) tennis team.
Ali was earlier given a temporary contract after he guided the UAE to the Tier III Davis Cup event in July.
After being appointed the permanent coach, Ali said that players must show renewed commitment to their sport if they were to progress further in the Davis Cup.
“Now it’s time to look at other international competitions and prepare for the next Davis Cup. The junior players have to put in a lot more work in terms of not just playing tennis but also outside the tennis court in terms of fitness and making sure that they eat properly and stay healthy,” Ali was quoted as saying in the Gulf News Saturday.
Ali, who represented India in the Davis Cup for 10 years, said that it was tough for players to perform their best in a team where their positions were never challenged due to lack of competition.
“I would really love to take these guys further but the commitment really has to come from the individual,” said Ali.
“If I had 100 players to select a team from, then the level of playing would be higher. They would all have to fight for their spot on the team and become more committed because they know they will not play for their country if they are not,” he added.
“When you only have a couple of players you don’t have that and I think some of them suffer from the fact that they take their place on the team for granted.”