Tennis News of Friday, 25 June 2004

Source: Sadia Umar

4 Tennis Stars For ITF Circuit

The Ghana Tennis Association (GTA) has selected four junior tennis players to represent the nation at the International Tennis Federation (ITF) West and Central Africa 13 and Under Circuit in Lagos, Nigeria.

The ITF-sponsored tournament scheduled for July 8 to 31, will see Kwesi Ayiah, Anita Cudjoe, Kwabena Ofosu Bamfo and Linda Parker representing the nation Ghana and other eight countries, namely Cote d'Ivoire, Benin, Togo, The Gambia, Mauritania host nation, Nigeria, and other countries in West and Central Africa will congregate in Lagos for the three-week event.

The competition covers events such as boys singles, the boys doubles, girls singles and girls doubles. To enhance their preparation towards the tournament, officials of the GTA have urged the selected players to link up with the Secretary General of the association for further directives.

Last year's edition of the ITF West and Central 13 and Under Circuit saw the Ghana flag tower above 16 countries that participated at the fiesta hosted by Togo and Ghana respectively.Nigeria's Alice Ijomo led her side to snatch the ultimate prize, while Salifu Mohammed led Ghana's boys team to avenge a defeat suffered by Ghana's female team.

Ghana came first in the boys division while Nigeria settled for the second position. In the girls division, Nigeria picked gold after beating Ghana in the girls finals.For the upcoming event, Ghana appears to have taken a firm stand to redefine her status in Lagos.