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ITF JUNIOR WORLD TEAM CUP: Team Nigeria Picks Bronze in Tunisia
Team Nigeria at the weekend defeated Seychelles 3-0 to finish third at the ITF World Team Cup Junior Qualifying Championship in Tunis, Tunisia.
Michael Osewa was the hero for the three-man U14 team as he defeated Damien Laporte of the Seychelles in straight sets to clinch the bronze for Nigeria.
The outcome was a sweet revenge for Osewa, who was beaten to the African Junior Championship title in Pretoria in March by his rival from the Indian Ocean Island. Hosts Tunisia took gold to qualify for the World Team Cup billed for Czech Republic in August.
“We had a decent performance as we won four of our nine matches in the World Team Cup,” Nigeria’s coach, Mohammed Ubale said on arrival in Abuja Saturday.
He added that the team have a good chance to bag qualification next year stressing that the ‘Fulani Boys’ Saminu Abubakar and Musa Sani showed lots of promises.
Michael Osewa was the hero for the three-man U14 team as he defeated Damien Laporte of the Seychelles in straight sets to clinch the bronze for Nigeria.
The outcome was a sweet revenge for Osewa, who was beaten to the African Junior Championship title in Pretoria in March by his rival from the Indian Ocean Island. Hosts Tunisia took gold to qualify for the World Team Cup billed for Czech Republic in August.
“We had a decent performance as we won four of our nine matches in the World Team Cup,” Nigeria’s coach, Mohammed Ubale said on arrival in Abuja Saturday.
He added that the team have a good chance to bag qualification next year stressing that the ‘Fulani Boys’ Saminu Abubakar and Musa Sani showed lots of promises.
“Despite the fact that they were playing their first international tournament outside Nigeria, they played very well. They have the talent and what they need is a bit more exposure because the matches they lost were due to inexperience.”
Abubakar and Sani, in separate interviews, relished their experience vowing to put up better performances for Nigeria next time.
They also thanked Prof Amina Mohammed, the Minister of Environment and Prof. Jubril Ibrahim for supporting their tennis careers.
Nigeria’s U16 team which featured in the Junior Davis Cup qualifier held simultaneously finished just outside the medal zone which was occupied by Morocco, Egypt and South Africa. The top-two teams qualified for the tournament in Hungary in July.
Abubakar and Sani, in separate interviews, relished their experience vowing to put up better performances for Nigeria next time.
They also thanked Prof Amina Mohammed, the Minister of Environment and Prof. Jubril Ibrahim for supporting their tennis careers.
Nigeria’s U16 team which featured in the Junior Davis Cup qualifier held simultaneously finished just outside the medal zone which was occupied by Morocco, Egypt and South Africa. The top-two teams qualified for the tournament in Hungary in July.
