Shakara Tourney Ends In Lagos

The final match of the 1st Annual Shakara Tennis Open ended in grand style as Afeez Razaq defeated Badmus Abdulkareem 6-7, 6-1,6-2 to take home a racquet, bag and a trophy.

The tourney, sponsored by Shakara International Limited, was held at the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.

Speaking to Tennis Special shortly after the match, Razaq expressed delight over winning the men’s singles final.

“I’m very happy to have won the final match. I also want to thank the sponsor for bringing smile to my face. We hope that this kind of tournament will continue to hold, so that we can showcase our talents,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Managing Director of Shakara International Limited, Pamela Nwaonu, said the organisation of the tournament would help improve the standard of tennis in the country.

She said: “I also played tennis and I have been coming to the stadium for quite some time now. I discovered that the players were not improving in their games. So, I thought it would be good to organise a tourney that would help them.”

“It’s the first in a series to come and I can assure our people that with time, the competition will rise to a world standard as we also hope to get more sponsors to partner with us.”

“We’re currently working with MTN and we expect bigger things from them as well as other sponsors in the future,” Pamela said.

—Damilare Okunola