As part of rewards for their outstanding performances at 2015 West & Central Africa Junior Circuit which was concluded over the weekend in Togo, eight Nigerians have been listed by the International Tennis Federation for the Africa Junior Championship scheduled for March in Tunisia.
The players that will be flying Nigeria’s flag at the Mediterranean nation are Martins Abamu, Godsgift Timipre, Ayoola Michael and Michael Oshewa (all boys); while the girls’ team will comprise Adetayo Adetunji, Angel McCleod, Barakat Quadri and Timpre Maxwell.
Nigeria topped the medals table of the tournament that featured nine countries with seven gold, four silver and three bronze medals and the nation’s all-round successful campaign was made more colourful by the month-long training scholarship to Morocco awarded to McCleod due to her eye-catching display in the girl’s 16&under category.
“It’s a plus to Nigerian tennis because McCleod has been a shinning example of how our efforts at re-engineering tennis at the junior level is yielding instant dividends,” Nigeria Tennis Federation President, Engr. Sani Ndanusa said in reaction to the development.
Ndanusa pointed that regular tournaments from NNPC, Chevron, SNEPCO, Midwestern Oil & Gas among others, is giving Nigeria an edge over most other African countries.
The 13-year-old McCleod, who recently moved from her base in Dubai to Lagos, was registered for the 16&under category as a way of fast-tracking her development in the game. She is scheduled to travel to Kenya on Friday for the ITF 18&under Circuit which will serve off on Sunday.
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