Maiden Azimuth Shipping Lines tennis tournament ends in Lagos

Gabriel Inyang last Saturday in Lagos won maiden edition of the Azimuth Shipping Lines
Junior Tennis Championship in the U14 boys category.

The national junior player, Inyang on the day he clocked 13 defeated Qoyum Atanda from
Oyo State 6-2 in the final decided at VGC Club, Lekki, Lagos to claim the star prize.
 
Inyang  who won back-to-back international tournaments in New York in 2016 and 2017 was at his best in the final against Atanda.
 
In the U14 girls category, Mary Udofia from Kogi State spanked her opponent Salamatu
Haruna from the FCT, Abuja 6-0  in a final which turned out to be a one-sided game.
 
Mohammed Idris of FCT Abuja triumphed over Seun Ogunsakin from Ekiti State 6-3 to clinch the boys U12 title, just as Esther Oni, reigning Snepco champion from Ekiti State conquered home girl, Nene Yakubu to claim the girls title.

In the boys U16 category, Sodiq Kushimo from Ogun State outplayed Daniel Joshua from Taraba State to win the star prize, while Esther Olamide from Ondo State ruled the girls category as she hammered home girl Serena Teluwo 6-2 in the final.
 
Meanwhile, finalists in all the categories were rewarded with trophies and prizes in addition to N20,000 and N40, 000 educational grants for runners up and winners respectively.
Also, all the players who made it to the quarter-finals were rewarded with prizes.

The semi-finalists from Team Oyo at the Azimuth tournament were reigning national CBN U12 boys champion, Mubarak Ganiyu who lost 6-4 to the eventual winner Mohammed Idris; Emeka Ogunjiefor (U14 boys) who lost 6-4 to Qoyum Atanda in an all-Oyo State affair, as Sikiru Atanda also in the U14 boys cadre lost to Gabriel Inyang, while Adekunle Abiodun also lost in the semi-final of the U16 boys category.

The quarter-finalists from Team Oyo were Fatimah Ganiyu (U16 girls) and Bamidele Awe (U14 girls).
Sponsor of the tournament, Captain Stephen Martins in his remarks expressed delight at the standard of play exhibited by all the participants, as he pledged a better tournament next year.

Stephen stressed the need for corporate bodies to complement government's effort and  support tennis by way of sponsoring tournaments especially for junior players.

Caption: Winner of the U14 boys title, Gabriel Inyang.