Alexander Adewale and Kafayat Omisore have emerged champions respectively in the male and female categories of the 44th CBN Senior National Tennis Championships on Saturday in Abuja.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that in the final match of the male wheelchair singles event at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium number one seed Adewale retained his title.
Adewale defeated number two seed Yusuf Wasiu 6-2 7-6 7-5 to emerge champion.
In the female event’s final match, Omisore who was the competition’s number one seed beat the number four-seeded Oluwakemi Oluwasegun 6-1 6-2 to emerge champion.
Speaking after the male event’s match, Adewale said he was delighted to still remain the champion in the male category.
“I won last year’s edition and I have won more than four championships consecutively.
“My opponent today has always been my rival in any competition.
“I thank the Nigeria Tennis Federation (NTF) and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for organising this championship,” he said.
Adewale said his target now is to participate in the 2024 Paralympics in Paris, asking the NTF to organize more events to help prepare him and others for the Games.
“We want the Federation to organise more national championships. We really need their support so that we can participate in major international competitions.
“This is the road to take for us to feature at the Paralympics. We all have the same challenge as wheelchair tennis players, and that is that we want to participate in international championships,” he said.
On her part, Omisore said she was also happy to win the championship.
“It was tough work, but I thank God I ended well. My opponent also played well, but I defeated her based on experience.
“I did not relent and I continued to work hard to achieve my target. I will go back home and continue to train for any competition ahead ,” she said
A total of 32 wheelchair players participated in the championships, comprising 16 male and 16 female.
The 44th edition of the CBN Senior National Tennis Open Championships which started May 13 ended Saturday at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium.
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