The six Nigerian players and their coach who went to represent the country at the ITF/CAT West and Central African Championship in Benin Republic, have returned to the country, Nigerian Tennis Live can report.
The players who gave an account of themselves could not make it to the top of their respective groups, but left the neighbouring West African country with their heads high and their pride intact after showing the counterparts what stuff they are made of.
Nigerian Tennis Live had reported that the boys qualified for the main event in Morocco after winning their first matches, but could not top the table after losing to their Ghanaian counterpart on Wednesday, 7 March.
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| The Nigerian players pose after their feat in Benin Republic. |
The girls could only manage a third place finish after fighting so hard before losing to hosts, Benin Republic in their final match of the series, which ultimately ensured that they did not qualify for the main tournament in the North African nation in August.
On their return to the country, Coach Abel Ubiebi who led the team to the tournament, expressed satisfaction with the players’ performance and noted that it was an eye-opener for most of the kids.
He pleaded, however, that early preparations for the main event in Morocco is required if the team must record maximum success in the championship.
“We need to commence preparations for this tournament as soon as possible because that is what will determine how far we will go in the competition.
“It is also a bigger stage than what we were exposed to in Benin Republic because this involves more exposed players than those we just played against. We appeal to our authorities to quickly help us look into this,” Coach Abel told Nigerian Tennis Live on arrival from the West African country.