22nd April, 2015
Damilare Okunola
The race for the International Tennis Academy, ITA’s N100, 000 for the player who excels in two different categories at the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN Junior Tennis Open is gathering momentum.
The CBN Junior Open is an annual event of the ITA for the past nine years and the Academy, in its bid to further encourage the youngsters to up their game, has penned down the said amount.
According to Mr. Godwin Kienka, Director of the ITA, this move by the organisers, will further ensure commitment of the players and strengthen their resolve to get better in the categories they are competing.
The last person to win the grant, P.M.NEWS Sport gathered, is Lolia Kienka, who incidentally is the daughter of the Director.
And last year, prodigiously talented Mary-Love Edwards missed out when she won the Girls’ U-12 final but lost out in the U-I16 to Zainab Oladimeji.
But with the tournament presently underway at the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club, LLTC, Onikan, Lagos, P.M.NEWS Sport spoke with some players who stand the chance of winning the grant this year as the ITA rightly assured that the grant is still in effect.
Young Edwards, who is almost a sure bet to win in the Girls U-12 category, has vowed to do the double this year by overcoming Angel McCleod, her nemesis in Girls U-16 in recent years.
While oozing with her usual confidence, the life member of the LLTC, stated: “I am certain of defeating Angel this year. She has defeated Me in three different finals but, I am ready to fight back this year”.
Christopher Itodo, one of the top players at this year’s event and winner of the Boys 16 at the NNPC Junior Circuit in Kaduna last year, also believes that he can excel in the two categories where he is competing.
“I shall also play in the Boys 18 event, so I hope that I win it alongside the U-16 which I am used to already”.