From time immemorial, lack of facilities has been cited as the biggest hindrance to the growth of the sports industry in the country.
Teams lack the proper training venues coupled with poor remuneration and officiating levels are an old story here in the country that never seems to go away.
No wonder the country has continued to struggle at the international championships with very little to show in most disciplines apart from athletics. However, one parent has seen the struggles the sons have gone through and he is keen to change the story for the better.
Rahim Virani has decided that this fate will not befall his tennis-mad players and has erected a state-of-the-art clay court at his backyard in the posh Mae Ridge in Gigiri, where his two sons, Raqeem Virani and Zayyani Virani, have been honing their skills for the last nine months.
Virani says he was inspired to build the court after seeing his sons struggle to finish third during the 2018 East and Central Africa tennis Championships in Rwanda and felt challenged to do something about it. “In my vocabulary, there is no second best. You have to be the best,” said Virani.
“The only way (for the boys) to be the best was to have the actual game at our backyard. Get off the house and start playing! When I was leaving (Rwanda), I was already talking to some people to come to Nairobi and see my garden and whether it was enough to build a court,” he said.
“It wasn’t about having a court at the back yard but to do something with it. I want the kids to get somewhere in the future and have a chance to thank me for the support.”
Well, it seems the investment was worth it since the boys went on to top the 2019 East and central African Championships and in addition qualified for the continental edition of the age category games set for September in Morocco. To accomplish this, Verani brought in a Burundian court-maker, Nkurikiye Ibrahim, who was introduced to the art by European investors who had built a number of similar courts in Bujumbura.
“I have been building such courts in Burundi for the last 20 years. One day we had a visitor from Europe who had come to attend one of our events and when he saw the troubles we had during the rain season, he offered to train us on how to build such quality courts,” said Nkurikiye, a married father of nine.
“I never knew there are no such courts in Kenya. It took me one month to complete the work but if we had all the material locally available, we would have taken shorter time. My dream is to see more such courts here since it significantly reduces the risk of injuries.”
Virani observed that: “Even though I have never quantified the investment, the court, racquets, racquet strings, net, balls and the other accessories could have cost between Sh6-7m.”
He said he did not build the court for recreational purposes but has a goal of seeing the kids turn professional. “Some people will take their kids to the courts for two or three hours and tell them ‘just play.
This is not how I see it. We take this sport very seriously. We don’t do it for recreation purposes and, to be honest, I am not looking for scholarships and all but I am doing this to reach somewhere,” he said, adding that seven-year-old daughter, Inaaya Virani, is also into the game although not as established as her elder brothers.
“Sport is not just about winning but self pride and also helps in the academics. Having the court here saves us more than an hour daily from sitting in traffic going to look for venues. The kids are not obliged to anybody and don’t need permission from anybody to play. There is no membership fees and no waiting on other users. They play very early in the morning, twice or thrice a week which has helped them improve greatly.”
Virani said he is using the Malcolm Gladwell 10,000 Rule which says that an individual will definitely excel in whatever they do once they dedicate 10,000 hours.
“Right now Zayyani and Virani have accumulated between 2,800 and 3,000 hours. We are looking at having them fulfill this when they are between 15 and 16 years,” he revealed.
In addition, playing for one’s country is not a small thing, be it at eight years, 18 years or 28 years.” Raqeem Virani, 11, said they are lucky to have such a facility at home and was grateful that it helped them to finish at the East and Central African zonal Championships.
“I am really grateful for what my dad has done and I don’t want to lose this opportunity up for anything else. Playing against my brother has been a win-win situation since whenever one of us wins, we have the privilege of bringing the trophy home,” said Raqeem. He said his target is to be the world number one player, inspired by a former world number one, Raphael Nadal.
“Having a dedicated coach has been good and tough and I want to go on with this relationship because I think with him I can go very far.”
His brother Zayyani, 9, said rising to be Kenya’s number one in his category has been a tough journey but remains grateful that his dad has been making things easy for them.
“My dad has been supportive and this makes me feel good. He sponsors my brother and I to go for tournaments and I am trying to repay his faith by doing well on the pitch,” he said.
“We are very lucky to have all these facilities and a dedicated coach.” Zayyani is also an athletics enthusiast who has had running drills with former London Marathon winner Daniel Wanjiru, who happens to live in their neighbourhood.
“Daniel is very encouraging. He is always helping me to become a better runner. My main goal is to play at the Wimbledon Open.” In addition, Virani has hired former Zimbabwe international Hillary Nyakabau as a full-time coach for the kids for the last seven months.
“The challenge has been working on the correct technique of play as well as competitive idea but so far, so good because they are complying with what I am teaching them. They are such clever boys, who are ready to compete. They have the spirit of wanting to learn as well love the game. Having this facility is crucial as we seek to have them compete at the highest level,” said Nyakabau, who have been in Kenya for a decade.
“We have been to most of the ranking tournaments locally where they have been tearing up their opponents. It’s not easy to compete with someone who plays tennis for 3-4 hours a day.”
Before the September tournament in Morocco, Nyakabu, who has also coached decorated Sheil Kotecha, is planning to have the boys attend international tournaments in Europe and Canada in July to gauge themselves.
“My dream is to sit in the Wimbledon box and watch these boys play,” added the Harare-born Nyakabau, a former Africa junior tap ranked player. “Individually, I want to have a tennis academy of my of own here in Nairobi.
