Kenyan doubles duo of Raqeem Virani and Baraka Ominde believe their patience and unity helped them win in their doubles final against Ugandan opponents to qualify for the Africa Team Championships for the first time in seven years.
“We did not allow frustrations to deter us from winning the match and qualifying for the continental championships,” said Ominde.
The boy’s team will represent Kenya in this year’s Africa Team Championship to be held in Morocco after finishing first in the East Africa 12 and Under Team Championship that ended over the weekend at the Nairobi Club.
The boys began with a lukewarm performance in the singles, winning one and losing the other. In a second seeds battle, Baraka Ominde smashed Uganda’s Nyata Junior 6-0, 6-3 while top seed Raqeem Virani lost 2-6,3-6 to Kampala’s finest Troy Zziwa. The pair, however, revamped in the doubles, coming back to win the first set in a tie-breaker and strangled the Ugandans 7-6 (6),6-1.
In the girls category, Kenya’s top seed Debbie overcame Eseza Muwanguzi 6-3,6-2 minutes before second seed Reha Kipsang surrendered 2-6,1-6 to Namaganda Marggie. Things went sour for Team Kenya following a 6-4, 2-6,11-9 loss in the doubles decider. The Polo Debbie and Reha Kipsang pair recovered in the second set with a win but lost in a tight tie-breaker in the final set.
National team coach Peter Wachira said the team has a bright future but insisted there was need for more public courts to sharpen the young talent. “They played so well and their future is very bright. All we need is the government to pump more resources into building more public courts to ensure more players access the facilities,” said Wachira.
“The education system is also not very favourable because it prevents the kids from juggling sports and studies effectively. If we, the federation, can link up with the government to establish schools for kids where they can train and study at the same time, then our athletes can be very successful. We have seen kids from abroad excel in sport and still manage to pass exams because their education system is very flexible.”
