A young tennis player died.
Zainab Ali Naqvi was the promise of Pakistani tennis. Illustration picture. PDO
Only 17 years of tennis promise Zainab Ali Naqvi died suddenly in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, according to several media reports.
Ali Naqvi passed away on February 12 during the junior tournament ITF J30.
Ali Naqvi had taken a shower in his grandmother’s guest room after practice. However, nothing was heard from him for a long time, so the grandmother became worried.
The grandmother tried to call Ali Naqvi from behind the guest room door, but got no answer. Eventually, the police broke down the bathroom door and found the young tennis player unconscious.
Ali Naqvi was rushed to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The cause of death is suspected to be a heart attack.
– Zainab had gone to the shower in the guest room, but did not return from there. It appears that he suffered a heart attack while taking a shower right after a hectic training session, police said, according to Sportskeeda.
– This is an extremely difficult day for Pakistani tennis when one of our most promising juniors died of a heart attack. We decided to name one of the fields after him. He would have played his first match of the tournament exactly on that court, the Pakistan Tennis Association said in its press release.
The athlete profile on the International Tennis Federation website states that Ali Naqvi started playing tennis at the age of 9. Ex-chairman of the Pakistan Tennis Association, current senator Salim Saifullah Khan, took part in the mourning.
– Losing a young promise is heartbreaking news. He inspired many tennis players in our country, said Saifullah Khan.