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It’s good when a new order is established in sports in terms of competition. It’s even more inspiring when it is juniors trying to do it.
That is why we want to congratulate the 14-year-old Angela Okutoyi and Ibrahim Kibet, 22, for winning their Britam Kenya Open Tennis Championships after they beat the regulars, the Changawa siblings Shufaa and Ismael, respectively, on Saturday.
Shufaa, 24, and Ismael, 22, who had won the titles three times each, are equally young — hence, a clear indication on the pedigree and the talent the country has in tennis.
It also shows how exposure to quality training and tournaments can transform players. Okutoyi, who passed through the ITF High Performance Centre in Burundi four years ago, went on to win the ITF Under-18 tournament there in June.
It earned her a place in the ITF Tour team that toured France, Belgium, Germany and Czech Republic, where she participated in tournaments in July, and also last month. She returned to win the Africa U-14 junior title in Algeria, and now the Kenya Open.
Kibet had a four-month stint in Australia; hence, the immense improvement that saw him down the experienced Ismael.
This shows that, with exposure, Kenyan players are bound to go places. There is a need, therefore, to hasten the construction of the tennis centre at Kasarani, Nairobi, whose groundbreaking was made in April.
With a modern facility, Kenya will attract quality tournaments.
It will also become cheaper for our players, who won’t be required to travel abroad for exposure and ITF ranking points.
We can also nurture and mould more players to compete at that high level. This is what the country needs, especially at this time after the men’s team got promoted to Davis Cup Group II next year.
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