Nigerian Players Are Not Lazy, Lawal Replies Critics

One of the foremost Nigerian players, Shehu Lawal, has told Nigerians not to see the present crop of local players as lazy , saying that there are numerous factors working against them which needed to be addressed before tagging them as a wasted generation.

Lawal told P.M.Sports at the Lagos Tennis Club, Onikan, the venue of the Governor’s Cup that if Nigerian players are lazy they would not have won medals at the recently concluded All Africa Games in Maputo.

“I want to make this clarification that Nigerian players are not lazy. We always put up our best in every competition but there are other factors militating against us. We can not be compared with our foreign counterparts, who travel from one country to another for tournaments,” he said.

Lawal attributed the lackluster performance of the Nigerian players to dearth of tourneys in the country and lack of sponsorship to International Tennis Federation, ITF, championships across the world.

He assured that if the most pressing needs of the Nigerian players are met, the players will be rubbing shoulders with their counterparts across the globe.

He cited the absence of national coaches at the Governor’s Cup as one the factors working against them, saying there presence would have spurred them to victory in the tourney.

He said that tactical input and encouragement of the national coaches are greatly missed by the players at the tourney.

“The Nigeria Tennis Federation, NTF, should help us make provision for the national coaches to be here to support us. Many of us are playing without coach. How do you expect us to perform better than these foreigners that are here with their family members and coaches even though they are playing away from home?” he asked.

He added that the federation needs to encourage the establishment of more tennis academies in the country, saying the available ones are not enough to discover and nurture young players to stardom.

On his future expectations, Lawal said he is only looking forward to sponsors that would offer him the opportunity to participate in other ITF championships across the world for him to be at the peak of his career.

Lawal, however, advised their critics to always think of what to do to help develop the game rather than demoralising the players. He said it takes collective effort of the people to take the Nigerian tennis to the greater heights.

On Tuesday, former Nigerian player, Jonathan Igbinovia, said on Brilla FM that the current Nigerian tennis players are lazy and a wasted generation.