Dar golfers tee off at EA tourney
Jay Nathwani poses after his heroic participation at the World Junior Open 2016 in Scotland recently. The youngster earned his first call-up to the national golf team. PHOTO | TGU
What you need to know:
- The tournament, which will involve about 12 nations, will see Tanzania represented by Abbas Adam, Victor Joseph, Amani Saidi, Salim Sharif, Henrick Elias Nyenza, Michael Zakaria Obare, Jay Nathwani and Pravin Singh.
Dar es Salaam. The East Africa Golf Challenge tees off today in Addis Ababa with eight Tanzanian players braced for competition.
The tournament, which will involve about 12 nations, will see Tanzania represented by Abbas Adam, Victor Joseph, Amani Saidi, Salim Sharif, Henrick Elias Nyenza, Michael Zakaria Obare, Jay Nathwani and Pravin Singh.
The Tanzania Golf Union (TGU) chairman, Joseph Tango told The Citizen yesterday that the golfers were mentally and physically prepared to face top competitors from the region.
“The golfers have prepared well heading into the tournament and it is our expectation that they will fly our national flag high in Ethiopia,” said the TGU boss. “We have a strong representation in Ethiopia, so there is no doubt that some of them will win us plaudit in the three-day event.”
The team which is under the tutelage of Hassan Kadio flew to the Ethiopian capital yesterday, beaming confidence.
Speaking before their departure, Kadio harboured hopes that the golfers will not let down Tanzanians.
“The tournament will certainly be very competitive considering that about 12 countries will have their golfers there. However, I have good feeling that we will come back with some trophies,” said Kadio who is also a household name in golf.
The team captain, Victor Joseph, also echoed Kadio’s remark, adding that they have all it takes to win the tournament.
“Our aim is to win the title and all of us are in the right frame of mind to claim the stab. Morale is high ahead of the ahead of start of the tournament,” said the skipper.
“We had a lengthy preparation time, so I believe that we are all in the best form. We hope to perform better than the golfers from Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and Ethiopia.”
This will be the first time Ethiopia will be hosting the annual tournament.
Last year, Uganda collected 18.5 points to win back-to-back East African Golf Challenge titles.
Kenya has won it a record 11 times. They last won the title in 2013 when the championship was held at the Great Rift Valley Resort Naivasha.
