Ogunsakin Retains Title as Curtain Falls on 2022 CBN Junior Tennis

Duro Ikhazuagbe 

The 16th edition of the CBN Junior Tennis Championship came to an exciting end on Saturday with Seun Ogunsakin retaining his Boys 16 & Under title at the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club (LLTC) in Lagos.

As usual, Ogunsakin had to fight back from 2-0 , 5-3 and 6-5 to defeat Ganiyu Mubarak 9-6 in a fiery contest that left tennis buffs asking for more.

Ogunsakin fondly called Nadal by his fans surged through the tension created by his father/coach to win four straight games from an obviously tiring Mubarak to retain his title.

In the Boys 10 & Under category, defending champion Murewa Egbeyemi showed exceptional determination to overcome the challenge of Dubem Amasiani who won the last ITA Junior Circuit tournament in Port Harcourt which Egbeyemi did not attend. 

It was a dogfight which lasted over an hour with some points going up to 30 solid rallies. But, once Egbeyemi broke for a 4-3 lead, he consolidated his lead and held firm to retain his title 9-5.

Speaking at the closing ceremony of the 16th edition of the CBN Junior Tennis Tournament, Governor of the CBN, Godwin Emefiele, said: “When the Central Bank of Nigeria conceived the idea of sponsoring the CBN-Junior Tennis Tournament in 2007, the main goals were to discover and groom teenage talents as well as nurture potential tennis champions in four age groups (10, 12, 14 and 16).”

The CBN Governor who was represented at the event by the Corporate Communications Director of the apex bank, Osita Nwanisobi, stressed that the journey in the last 16 years has witnessed the discovery of an array of talented young boys and girls, some of whom have gone on to achieve great feats in the game locally and on the international scene.  

“The success recorded thus far no doubt underscores the fact that the investment has been worthwhile. Specifically, this tournament has afforded Nigerian junior tennis players the platform to dominate the West African Circuit of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) for several years.

“Marylove Edward and Oyinlomo Quadre are now ranked in the top 200s in the ITF Junior world rankings and could be set for appearances at the Grand Slam Junior event. 

“Similarly, the likes of Joseph Imeh, Thomas Otu, Sylvester Emmanuel and Moses Emmanuel, who have dominated the senior level in Nigerian tennis are all products of the CBN Junior circuit.”

He said he looks forward to having the winners participate in the CBN Senior Tennis Championships scheduled to hold later in the year.