KADUNA – The NNPC Junior Tennis Circuit on Saturday came to an end at the Murtala Square Sporting Complex ,Kaduna, with final matches played in the under 10, 12, and 14 categories, respectively.
Abdullahi Ajanaku of Lagos won the boys under 10 Category by beating Richard Gabriel 9-3 while Usman Kushimo of Ogun State defeated Usman Garba of Kano 9-7, to clinch the trophy in the boys under 12 Category.
Iye Onoja of Kaduna defeated her sister, Neku Onoja, also of Kaduna 9-5 in the Girls under 12 Category.
In the Boys under 14 Category, Gabriel Friday of Kaduna thrashed Benjamin Ayuba of Kaduna by 9 sets to 0.
Christopher Itodo of Kaduna beat Christopher Bulus of Lagos by 9-5 in the boys under 16 Category.
The high point of the final day, was the match between Angel Macleod and Marylove Edwards in the Girls under 16 Category, which saw Macleod defeating her opponent 9-5.
Macleod, who had featured in a number of competitions, said defeating Marylove did not come easy.
“Though the last game I played against her last year was tough, but today’s game was tougher,’’ she said.
Marylove, on her part, said: “I do not feel bad despite the loss. I am satisfied with the level of my game today.
Also speaking on the championships, Godwin Kienka, Coordinator, International Tennis Academy, said that he was impressed with the children performance of the children in the competition.
He said that the academy had achieved a lot in training the children in the past ten years, and adding that the next challenge was to prepare the players for the ATP level, where they could be ranked at the age of 16.
“By the time they are 19, they will have enough wisdom, knowledge and skills to begin to accumulate points for ATP ranking.
NAN reports that a total of 120 children participated in this year’s NNPC Junior Tennis Circuit in Kaduna.(NAN)
