27th April, 2015
Damilare Okunola
Nigeria’s budding female tennis sensation, Mary-Love Edwards, has narrowly missed out on the N100, 000 grant which the International Tennis Academy, ITA has promised to give any player who wins in two different categories at the just concluded Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN Junior Tennis Championship in Lagos.
Young Edwards was edged out yet again by Angel McCleod in what is fast becoming a rivalry between both players, 9-5 to win the final match of the Girls’ U-16 event.
Although she had vowed to get one past her friend, Edwards could not cope with the superior firepower of the former Dubai-based tennis prodigy, who raced to a 4-1 lead in less than 30minutes.
After winning the Girls’ U-14 final against Timipre Maxwell from Port-Harcourt, talented Edwards could not do a double as McCleod eventually won the entertaining encounter.
Meanwhile, Chris Bulus from Lagos and Timipre Maxwell from the Port Harcourt-based Kodian Tennis Foundation were adjudged the most outstanding players for the boys and girls categories respectively of the 2015 CBN Junior Tennis event.
Bulus 16, who played in the Boys 16s and 18s( because of the policy of the organisers to allow the top four seeds in a lower age group play up one age category) lost in the semifinals of the 16s but recovered to reach the Boys 18s final where he lost to Martins Abamu also from Lagos.
Maxwell, on the other hand, moved up to the Girls 12 this year and won the event beating Iye Onoja from Kaduna. She also reached the Girls 14 final where she lost 1-9 to Marylove Edwards.
Iye Onoja won the Girls 10 title beating vastly-improved Serena Teluwo from Lagos.
In the other boys events, Austin Stephen from Lagos upset Chris Itodo from Kaduna in the Boys 16s final to win his first junior title.
Gabriel Friday from Kaduna pulled one back for his team by overcoming a hard fighting Mathew Abamu in the Boys 14.
Kodian Tennis Foundation got their second title through David Dawariye who beat Usman Kushimo from Abeokuta in the Boys 12 category.
The Boys 10 title was won by Daniel Adeleye from Ekiti who beat Fortune Joseph from Lagos.
The grand finale of the weeklong championship was attended by many dignitaries including the former minister of external affairs, Odein Ajumogobia, Ambassador Florence Oku of COPAZ, the President of the Nigeria Tennis Federation represented by Duro Ikhazuagbe and Ibrahim Mu’azu Director, Corporate Communications of the CBN who represented the CBN governor as guest of honour.
Speaking after the event, Mu’azu noted with satisfaction that the players have rightly distinguished themselves and have shown a high level of competitiveness.
He however wants, “other bodies to come into tennis sponsorship to make the work the CBN has been doing more effective and to further boost the growth and development of tennis in Nigeria.”