Reigning Africa Junior Under-14 championship Angela Okutoyi is keen to redeem herself in the ongoing tenth edition of the Kenya International Junior Championships after making it to the quarter finals of the third leg at Nairobi Club yesterday.
Okutoyi lost in the quarter finals of the second leg played last week to Salma Loudili of Morocco but launched her bid to reign supreme in the juniors’ event edging out Kenyan-born American Madison Smith 6-3, 6-3 in the third round to sail to the last eight.
The promising star was the sole Kenyan girl to make it to the quarters as compatriot Alicia Owegi lost 6-1, 6-2 to Nairobi-based Burundian Aisha Niyonkuru in another third round match played at the same venue.
She noted that last week’s defeat had impacted negatively on her ranking and vowed to fight towards regaining her glory. She said going forward, a semifinal will be her irreducible minimum for the tournament. She is expected to play her quarter finals match tomorrow as the girls’ ties take a break today.
“The match was tough today but I had to be tougher to beat her. It was important for me to begin the tournament on a winning note as I want to redeem myself after last week’s early exit which impacted badly on my ranking,” she said.
Meanwhile, a hard hitting Albert Njogu began his quest to end his juniors’ title jinx with a comfortable 6-3, 6-0 win over Seen Shreejit of India in the boys’ category to sail to the third round.