20th April, 2015
Damilare Okunola
The 9th edition of the annual Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN Junior Tennis Open, on Monday, 20 April, served off at the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club, LLTC, Onikan, Lagos, P.M.NEWS Tennis Special can reliably inform.
This year’s tournament will, as usual, see youngsters compete in U 10, 12, 14 and 16, 18 for both boys and girls in the week-long event.
According to Mr. Godwin Kienka, organiser of the tournament, the tournament is very important to nurture the young talents in the racket games as a way of building future stars for the country.
Kienka, whose International Tennis Academy, ITA is in charge of the competition, believes also that, “since the kids are used to competing against each other from a really tender age, it will in no small way, ensure that they can catch up with their seniors in a very short period.
“Already, from what we all know, we had a junior player defeat established stars in the country to win a Masters last year. That is what bringing them up early enough does to them.
“We hope to see new stars as the tournament kicks off as that is one of the aims of the event.”
Speaking also on the gains of the CBN Junior Championships in recent past was Ibrahim Mu’azu, Director, Corporate Communications Department of the CBN, who was represented by Isaac Okoroafor during the press briefing to officially announce the commencement of Circuit in Lagos last weekend.
Mr. Okoroafor, who also expressed the CBN’s delight at sponsoring the event every year since inception, hailed the diligence of Mr. Godwin Kienka, whose International Tennis Academy, ITA, is the organiser of the annual event.
“I am pleased to inform you that the Junior Tennis Championship has become an important event of the International Tennis Academy since its inception in 2007.
“The management of the bank has noted with satisfaction, the steady development and success recorded in the Championship as players from the CBN Junior Circuit have always represented Nigeria in the African Junior Championships and other international competitions.
“They are already challenging the senior players in the senior CBN Senior Tennis Open Championship. It is worthy to note that in the senior rankings of 2014, we had six players who have gone through this circuit in the top 12.
“They are as follows: Thomas Otu (No.3), Emmanuel Idoko (No. 4), Joseph Imeh (No. 6), Sylvester Emmanuel (No. 8), Michael Moses (No. 11) and Sunday Emmanuel (No. 12),” he stated.
The representative of the CBN head also hailed the contribution of the LLTC, principal host of the tournament, for its hospitality and relentless efforts in ensuring that Nigerian tennis is played with the best facilities available in the country.
While reaffirming its commitment to the continued sponsorship of the junior championship, the CBN noted that it shall continue to do its best for the promotion and development of the racket game in Nigeria.