One of Nigeria’s former national players, Gabriel Abinu, recently returned to the country to organize a junior tournament for tennis players as a way of giving back to the sport that has given him a lot of exposure.
Abinu, who has been in the United Arab Emirates for some years, expressed his delight at being able to give something back in terms of tournament organization, especially for junior players who may not be privileged to engage in such an act of benevolence.
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| Some of the players participating in the tournament. |
Asked why he decided to splash money on organising a tournament, the elder brother of former female number one player, Fatimah Abinu, said: “I am doing it for the love of the game. I was once a national player too. Moreover, we don’t have so many tournaments in Nigeria.”
He explained further, saying: “It is a thing I love doing year after year by the grace of God. The prizes are tennis rackets, tennis bags and tennis shoes.
“The prizes will be for the winners and runners up in the semifinals and quarter finals.”
Naija Tennis Special gathered that the junior tournament for U-14 boys and girls set the Dubai-based tennis player and coach a whooping N500,000.
The tournament kicked off on Wednesday, 12 July and will end on Friday, 14 July, inside the tennis section of the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.