Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal & others receive special Eid greeting from Qureshi
On the occasion of Eid, Pakistan's highest-ranked player Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi sent out a special greeting to Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and a string of other stars. The 40-year-old put up a video post on his Twitter handle late on Monday night, acknowledging the Big 3's support towards his COVID-19 relief campaign 'Stars Against Hunger'.
The objective of Stars Against Hunger is to provide food and other necessities to the people in Pakistan who have been adversely affected by the coronavirus pandemic. The doubles specialist is running the campaign in conjunction with Rizq Foundation, and the ultimate goal is to procure rations for 10,000 families in the country.
The funds for the rations are being generated through bids for signed memorabilia provided by the stars. Roger Federer has donated the shirt he wore during the 2016 Wimbledon semifinal, and also the shoes he used during the 2011 Cincinnati Masters.
Rafael Nadal, meanwhile, has contributed his shirt from the practice sessions at Roland Garros 2018. And Novak Djokovic has donated perhaps the most significant item of all: the shirt he wore while beating Andy Murray in the 2011 Australian Open final.
Qureshi thanks Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic for their contributions
Qureshi chose the occasion of Eid to thank Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, in addition to the likes of Maria Sharapova, Sania Mirza, Grigor Dimitrov and Daniil Medvedev, for their enthusiastic support.
"I would like to wish a very happy Eid to Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Sania Mirza, Maria Sharapova, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Grigor Dimitrov, Daniil Medvedev and Cafu. All the international stars, for supporting the 'Stars against Hunger' movement," Qureshi said.
Qureshi, like most other tennis players, has been confined indoors during the coronavirus-enforced lockdown. But he has been trying to do his bit from his home, helping mobilize funds for a country that has had over 50,000 positive cases and more than 1,000 deaths due to the virus so far.
Earlier in the day Qureshi posted a picture with his family, saying he was blessed to be able to spend time with them even though the world is going through some 'bizarre times'.
Stars from various fields come together to help Qureshi and Pakistan
Just like Roger Federer, Maria Sharapova has also donated shoes for the campaign. Sania Mirza and Grigor Dimitrov have both contributed racquets, as has Daniil Medvedev - who even posted a video message in support of the movement.
In addition to tennis stars, several sportspersons from other fields have also come forward to pledge their support. Those include cricketers Wasim Akram, Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal, Mushtaq Ahmed and Shoaib Akhtar, as well as boxer Amir Khan and squash star Jahangir Khan.