Tswako foundation holds Tennis tournament, donates training kits in Minna
Tswako foundation holds Tennis tournament, donates training kits in Minna
By Abubakar Hassan
Tswako foundation has organized a Tennis tournament for young boys and girls between the ages of 12 and 16 in Minna, and also donated some training kits to the young Tennis players, aiming at catching them young in the game.
At the closing ceremony of the Three days event held at the Tennis court of the Minna sports club on Wednesday, the founder of the foundation, Abubakar Sadiq Tswako said in Tswako foundation they believe that every child is a champion.
The United States based Tennis player narrated the difficult experience he went through as a young Tennis player, saying he doesn't want to see any child playing Tennis to pass through similar experience, hence the humanitarian gesture.
"I know the difficulty in playing without a racket, string, shoe and other kits. I don't want to see any young Tennis player to suffer the same fate," said the founder.
He disclosed that the foundation have been holding similar event in Abuja for the past seven years, but this was the first time they were bringing it to his root, promising to continue to do it in Minna annually.
The former Chairman of Niger state Tennis Association and Managing Director Crispy Engineering, Hon. Mohammed Yakubu Sonlati said the gesture was very germane to the development of Tennis in the state, and commended the Tswako foundation for the sacrifice.
"As immediate past Chairman of Niger state Tennis Association, developing the children in this aspect of the game is something that is very commendable and we sincerely appreciate his doggedness and effort," said Hon Sonlati.
He also called on other professional Tennis players who have excelled in the game to look back to where and how they started to encourage the younger ones in the game which will aid the growth and development of the game in the state and the country as a whole.
The Vice Chairman of the forthcoming Farmer Governor's Tennis Championship, Hajiya Hassana Adamu who is also a special guest at the event said she was impressed with what she saw and appreciated the founder, adding that it will go a long way in encouraging the young ones.
She observed that it was not easy for someone who moved up the ladder in the game like Sadiq, playing in the United States and begin to remember where it started, saying it is quite commendable and called on others like Sadiq Tswako to emulate him.
The Head Coach of Tswako foundation, Henry Lawal who initiated the programme about eight years ago said they started by organizing competition and giving the children a cash token of N10,000, and later started looking for donations of kits which they gift the children at the end of the tournament.
Coach Henry who coached Sadiq Tswako during his young playing days said he feels fulfilled. "I feel fulfilled. I am happy now because this is what I have always want. What you impact on people matters a lot," he added.
The state Tennis association head coach, Bitrus Danjuma said he is the direct beneficiary of the gesture, expressing happiness that such event was happening in his domain and in his time as the head coach of the association.
He observed that Niger state was the centre of Tennis development in Nigeria, and such kind of event is what they need to advance Tennis game in the state, and appreciated the Tswako foundation for partnering with the state Tennis association to continue to develop the game.
Highlights of the event was presentation of various training kits to the participants, such as singlets, canvas shoes, rackets, strings, tennis balls among other items. Over 30 young boys and girls participated in the three days event.
