Paralympics: Wheelchair Coach Assures Good Outing In London

Basking in the euphoria of his team’s feat at the just concluded Wheelchair Tennis World Team Cup in Nairobi, Kenya, national wheelchair tennis coach, Frank Tarmena, has assured Nigerians that his team will not disappoint them at the London Paralympic Games, coming up in August this year.

Nigeria’s wheelchair tennis team grabbed one of Africa’s wildcards for the Paralympics Games in London, when they defeated Morocco 2-1 in the World Team Cup, which is the qualifying tournament for the Games.

Wasiu Yusuf set Nigeria on victory path by stroking past Jeddi Ahemd of Morocco in straight sets of 6-3, 6-1, while Alex Adewale sealed the triangular encounter for the country with another straight sets of 6-2, 6-3 win over Moroccan Ihaj Boukartacha.

Tarmena said that to ensure that Nigerian players consolidate on the achievement recorded at the Team World Cup, there would be adequate preparation for them to have a good outing at the London Games.

According to the coach, “The team would play series of tune-up games in Africa and Europe ahead of the Paralympic Games billed for August in London.”

Adewale had already picked a singles ticket to the Paralympics, following his triumph in one of the qualifiers in South Africa in last December year. His performance, which saw him beat tournament’s top-seeded player, helped increased Nigeria’s qualifying tickets to three, from its previous singles slot which Yusuf earned.