19th January, 2015
Nigeria reaffirmed its reputation as a major force in junior tennis in Africa by topping medal’s table at the 2015 International Tennis Federation (ITF) West and Central Africa Junior Circuit which was rounded-off at the weekend in Togo.
Nigeria ended the eight-day double-phase tournament with seven gold, four silver and three bronze medals for an accumulated 1,355 points. Host Togo came second with 850 points, winning four gold, three silver and three bronze medals, while Benin Republic came third with 500 points with two gold, two silver and one bronze.
In some of the finals played at the Stade Omnisports, Lome on Saturday, Barakat Quadri clinched gold in the girls’ 14& Under category as she proved her supremacy over Becoude Karmine of Benin, whom she had defeated in the first phase, with 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 score line, while Timipre Maxwell also bagged gold for Nigeria in the Girls’ 12 & Uder category.
Quadri, 12, who was the only Nigerian player to win two gold medals in the competition, attributed her success to the regular tournaments she has played across the country.
Nigeria Tennis Federation (NTF) President, Engr. Sani Ndanusa lauded the players for their outstanding performance. He promised that the federation will re-engineer its effort towards the junior players by monitoring their progress for this to translate to a more commanding performance at the senior level.
Ndanusa called for government and corporate bodies’ support for tennis, adding that Nigerian players can match their counterparts from the leading tennis-playing nations if given necessary support.