Rivers and Edo players supplied three of the four singles champions as the ninth Prince Victor Uwakwe Three-Regions Under-15 and Under-21 Tennis Tournament ended at Enugu Sports Club over the weekend.
Key takeaways
- Rivers athletes captured the Under-15 girls’, Under-15 boys’ and Under-21 boys’ singles crowns.
- Favour Emeka, Daniel Udimwbong and Joshua Maxwell emerged as Rivers’ champions.
- Edo’s Precious Ohimal won the Under-21 girls’ title after beating fellow state player Aigbagbe Esther.
- The four-day competition brought together players from the Southeast, Southsouth and Southwest.
- Organisers are considering an early-September date for next year to prevent clashes with other tournaments.
Rivers dominates singles events
Favour Emeka opened Rivers’ winning run in the Under-15 girls’ final, overcoming Imo’s Nwosu Ngozi 6-1, 6-4.
In the Under-15 boys’ decider, Daniel Udimwbong responded strongly after dropping the opening set to defeat Taiye Omoniyi 6-7, 6-3, 6-2.
Joshua Maxwell completed Rivers’ three-title haul in the Under-21 boys’ category, beating Imo representative Chimaobi Onuegbu 6-1, 6-3.
Edo secured the only championship outside Rivers when Precious Ohimal defeated her state colleague Aigbagbe Esther 7-6, 6-2 in the Under-21 girls’ final.
The event lasted four days and attracted emerging competitors from Nigeria’s Southeast, Southsouth and Southwest regions.
Organisers plan changes for next edition
Tournament patron Prince Victor Uwakwe described the latest staging as a 70 per cent success. He said higher operating expenses, combined with clashes involving competitions in Kwara and Lagos, affected the turnout of Southwest players and reduced the intensity of the inter-regional contest.
Uwakwe said the organisers intend to move next year’s tournament to the beginning of September in an effort to eliminate calendar conflicts. He also urged governments across the Southeast to improve school sports facilities, stressing that education and sporting progress should develop together.
On Enugu’s failure to produce a champion in any of the tournament’s nine editions, Uwakwe promised greater backing for the host state’s players through broader coaching initiatives.
Chukwuma Eze, the Enugu Sports Club tennis captain, said the prolonged absence of an Enugu winner exposed shortcomings in the state’s approach to sports development. He revealed that a redesign of grassroots training is being prepared.
Eze added that discussions were in progress on creating a foundation that could provide long-term support for the tournament, with the eventual ambition of developing it into a Senior Tour.
A delegate from the Enugu State Ministry of Youth and Sports assured the organisers that government policy would remain favourable to privately funded and philanthropic efforts supporting sports development.
The closing ceremony featured the distribution of trophies, sporting equipment and cash awards to champions and runners-up. Prof. Gab Agu, chairman of the Enugu State Tennis Association, formally brought the tournament to a close.
