Shodipo Excited As Turbocharged NTF Boosts Wheelchair Tennis

By Ikpo IGBINOBA 

Barely ten days after the inauguration, the newly elected board of the Nigeria Tennis Federation, NTF, is already firing from all cylinders to achieve the goal of taking Tennis to a new level.

And wheelchair Tennis is a beneficiary of the strides being taken by the board led by the second-term president, Mr Dayo Akindoju.

The head of the wheelchair department of the NTF,  Mr. Lateef Shodipo could not conceal his excitement at the development.

He said in an interview at the National Stadium in Lagos “What the new board has done for wheelchair tennis is amazing. 

“At its inaugural meeting, the new board endorsed three exclusive tournaments for a wheelchair. This is indeed a welcome development”.

Indeed there is no dull moment for wheelchair tennis players in the last quarter of the year.

Between November and December, the players have three competitions to attend in Lagos, Abuja, and Benin City.

From November 7-10, the maiden edition of the VEMP Wheelchair National Tennis Championship will take place at the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.

Still, in November, Abuja will play host to the PUMA Engineering  Wheelchair ITF World Tennis Tour from the 25th to the 27th.

In December, the wheelchair tennis train will arrive Benin City, when the Edo State capital will host a new item in the tennis calendar, the Exquisite Wheelchair Tennis Tournament. 

The championship which will run from December 1st to 4th is closed to players from the six states of the South-South zone.

The states are Edo, Delta, Rivers, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, and Bayelsa.

Though excited at the development, Mr. Shodipo said he couldn’t stop asking for more.

According to him “I am very happy and also very grateful to the new board but I’ll still ask for more. 

“I am Oliver Twist who will always ask for more.

“We need more championships so as to discover new talents and improve the standard of the game. 

“Our biggest dream in the Wheelchair department is to participate in the Paris 2024 Olympics and make a big impact”

Aside from the Wheelchair tennis events, the NTF has five other championships listed for the last quarter of the year.

They are the Dala Hard Courts billed for October 28th to November 6th in its traditional venue in Kano, VEMP National Tennis Open scheduled for November 4th to November 13th in Abuja, and the International Tennis Federation, ITF World Tennis Tour holding between 12th and 30th November.

The others are Rainoil  National Tennis Open which takes place in Lagos from December 2 to December 11 and Abuja Tennis Cup from December 3rd to 18th.