22nd December, 2014
Damilare Okunola
Gabriel Ogbechie of Rainoil Ltd, major sponsor of the just concluded Ikoyi Tennis Masters, has explained why his organisation sponsored the year-ending event.
Ogbechie, who was at the closing ceremony of the week-long event held at the Ikoyi Club 1938 in Lagos, stated also that Ranoil is committed to sponsoring the Ikoyi Club Masters for the next three years.
According to him: “Ikoyi Club, which is the best club in Nigeria deserves such an event and should do more to support the development of tennis in Nigeria.”
And as a way of appreciating Sylvester Emmanuel, the youngster who won the tournament, Mr. Ogbechie offered the 17-year old a flight ticket to America for training in an Academy.
The tournament, according to the Nigeria Tennis Federation, NTF, will now maintain its place as one of the competitions listed on the Federation’s calendar yearly.
Meanwhile, at the NNPC Junior Tennis Masters which was also concluded last week, Musa Yahaya gave Kano her first junior tennis title when he beat number one seed, Ajanaku Abdullahi from Lagos, 9-5 in the final of the boys 10
category.
Yahaya from Kano club, home of the age old Dala hard court Championship was finalist at the NNPC Junior Circuit tournament in Kaduna last October.
Junior Tennis sensation, Angel Mcleod predictably won the girls16 title beating Zainab Oladimeji 9-5 in the finals. Other winners were Marylove Edwards, Girls 14 and Chidinma Ezeh from Onitsha Girls 10.
The Boys 16 title was won by Tochukwu Ezeh from Onitsha and the Boys 14 by Gabriel Friday from Kaduna.