‘Special talent’ Imran has a long way to go

future appears bright for youngster Imran Daniel Hazli after being signed recently by renowned sports management agency Lagardere Sports, who also manages Richard Gasquet and Caroline Wozniacki.

Phillipe Weiss, the agent who scouted Imran, has dubbed him a special talent who has immense potential, given the right guidance over the next few years. Imran is still very young and will only turn 13 in April.

“I spend five to seven months a year travelling to scout for players and I first saw Imran at the Eddie Herr International. I had never heard of him before that,” said the France-based Weiss, during a phone interview yesterday.

“When I first saw Imran, I felt that he was special. He has something different, he feels the game, he is an incredible fighter and is very passionate. It is these elements that led me to believe he has the potential to be a very good player.”

Weiss is a well known figure in the sport having managed Croatian star Ana Konjuh among others. Prior to joining Lagardere, Weiss had signed numerous stars for Nike including Rafael Nadal, Juan Martin Del Potro, Tomas Berdych, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Victoria Azarenka and Lucie Safarova.

Weiss added that Lagarde will support Imran by putting into place the necessary elements that are required to develop him into a world-class player. All decision-making, however, will be left to Imran’s father-cum-coach Abdul Hazli Zainuddin.

“The goal is to get Imran to fulfill his potential and stay there for as long as possible. This is, however, a long term project and at this stage winning is not a priority.

“There are so many important factors to consider when developing a player. I do not like the term agent, I consider myself a project manager for Imran and my job is to put everything in place for him.”

Imran reached the round-of-16 at the Eddie Herr International and Orang Bowl International Championships, both in Florida last year. Both are prestigious junior competitions in the world.