We’ll do Tanzanians proud in Africa tourney, say youth team players

Dar es Salaam. National youth tennis team coach, Nicolas Leringa says his players have what it takes to sparkle at the 2018 Africa Junior Championship.

Tanzania will field three players in the championship scheduled for March 18- 23 in Pretoria, South Africa.

“My players are responding positively to my instructions during the training sessions,” Leringa told The Citizen by phone from Arusha yesterday. The youngsters have been fine-tuning in Arusha since last week ahead of the continental tournament, which will feature 120 players from 28 countries.

“I am optimistic they will do Tanzanians proud in South Africa,” the coach said.

The juniors qualified for the annual tournament following their stellar performance in the East African Zone ITF/CAT Junior Championship that was held in Nairobi, Kenya in January. The coach named the trio as Esther Nakulanga and Kanuti Alangwa and Shana Mao. The youngsters were yesterday in high spirits, looking forward to perform impressively in the Pretoria championship.

“I have played before in competitive games like this, and I hope to perform well in Pretoria,” said Namkulanga.

“We know that we will be up against talented players from other countries, but we are ready for the challenge,” she added.

For his part, Alangwa believes the three-member squad comprises the best junior tennis players in the country.

“Our performance in previous editions has not been that good but we are up to the challenge.