Facts have emerged on why MaryLove Edwards was conferred with the Best Sports Personality Award by Nigerian Child Award (NICA).
The Nigerian tennis prodigy was adjudged Nigeria's best in her category during a grand ceremony held at the Oriental Hotel, Lekki, Lagos on Sunday, August 20.
When Naija Tennis Special spoke with Babalola Omoniyi, one of the organisers of the award, it was gathered that the national under 14 champion was the only tennis player nominated in the sports category, and with her achievements in the sport, she was rightly adjudged the winner.
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| MaryLove in action during one of the CBN tournaments in Nigeria. |
In a chat with our correspondent, he said: "Her profile says it all. She's won almost all the tournaments in juniors. She no longer plays with her peers anymore.
"Going through her profile, we discovered that it was rich enough for her to be confirmed as the number one sports personality in the country.
"She may not be the best in the whole country. She is a figment of what the Nigerian children are doing. It is fortunate for her that she is the winner of this year's edition.
"People got to nominate individuals for the category and people sent in names from football, but tennis is one sport that needs to be encouraged in the country.
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| The award presented to MaryLove during the ceremony held in Lagos over the weekend. |
"There were about 15-20 entries, but she was the only one who was not playing basketball or football. We considered all other sports in the country before reaching that conclusion.
"We needed to encourage tennis as a sport in the country, that was how we came about the award for MaryLove."
The youngster is expected to leave Nigeria for the Nick Bolleteri Academy in the United States in the coming weeks as she commences her foray into professional tennis world.
