Richard Inyang, one of the Nigerian coaches presently in Abuja for the Play Your Age Tennis Championship, has lauded the leadership of the Nigeria Tennis Federation (NTF) for its initiative in bringing up such a national junior tournament.
The Engr. Dayo Akindoju-led NTF commenced the first edition of the tournament to ensure that age cheat becomes a thing of the past in the country's tennis, a development which many coaches have embraced almost immediately.
Coach Richard Inyang presently at the Play Your Age Tennis Championship in Abuja, the nation's capital.
To this end, young players from every part of the country stormed the Package B of the National Stadium in Abuja, with their birth certificates to confirm their ages and play against people within the same age bracket in the tournament.
This new concept has since been hailed by Coach Inyang, who went to Abuja with his son, Gabriel. He noted that expectations are high from the coaches and parents who are in the nation's capital for the tournament and believes that the exercise will yield more positives.
"It is a good way to start grassroots development by the new administration, honestly. This is a really good idea by the NTF, I salute the leadership for such a wonderful initiative.
"I can assure you that if it continues like this, something promising will come out of Nigeria soon. I mean, the kids are excited, they are learning, and are happy to see their counterparts from other parts of the country.
"If my son wins (which I expect), fine. But it not, we take it in good faith. The most important thing is the learning process which I believe is the main reason we are here," he told our correspondent from Abuja.
The tournament is expected to climax on Thursday, 21 December, when the players are expected to leave Abuja for their respective bases.
