Tennis Kenya names provisional squad for African Games

Kenyan youngsters Baraka Ominde, Brandon Sagala, Kennedy Musembi, and Raymond Oduor are excited to be drafted into the provisional tennis team for the African Games scheduled for March 8-23 in Accra, Ghana.

The quartet will battle for four tickets on offer against seasoned players Ismael Changawa, Albert Njogu, Kevin Cheruiyot, Derick Ominde, USA-based brothers Kael Shah and Keean Shah as well as Ibrahim Kibet (Australia).

Changawa, Kibet, Kael, Keean, and Derick were part of the Kenya Davis Cup which featured in Africa Group Four in Kigali, Rwanda last year.

Kenya’s ladies' team comprises USA-based Angella Okutoyi, Alicia Owegi and Roselida Asumwa, and Zimbabwe-born and based Melissa Mwakha, who has moved 455 places in the last two weeks to settle at position 703 in the latest International Tennis Federation (ITF) Junior singles rankings released on February 19.

Kenyan-Belgian Anouk Vandevelde, who is based in Belgium, but is currently in Nairobi, as well as Cynthia Cheruto and Stacy Yego (Nairobi), complete a list of seven players eyeing places in the final women's team of four.

At the 2019 African Games in Rabat, Morocco, Kenya fielded Okutoyi, Owegi, Judith Muraa, and Faith Omurunga (women) and Njogu, Changawa, Cheruiyot and Kibet (men).

Kibet and Cheruiyot were also part of the 2015 team in Brazzaville, the Republic of Congo. On Monday, Baraka, Sagala, Musembi, Changawa, Njogu, Cheruiyot, and Derick upped their training under coach George Oyoo on the clay courts of the Nairobi Club.

Foreign-based players are training in their respective countries.

“We have been training for four weeks here in Nairobi and it is now a matter of getting the much-needed fitness and polishing skills ahead of the African Games which we will also be using as part of preparations for the Davis Cup Africa Group IV tournament,” said Oyoo.

“It will be tough in Accra considering that the African Games will serve as Paris 2024 Olympic qualifiers. It will be huge for us if we manage to have one player qualify for the Olympics," he added.

Baraka, who last month won the Eastern Africa Championships in Burundi, said training with the seasoned players gives him an opportunity to improve his game.

“I admit that I still need to work on my confidence because sometimes when I’m playing, I’m afraid,” observed 15-year-old.

Musembi,21, noted that it was a dream to train with top players in Kenya such as Changawa for the African Games, while Sagala,19, was excited to be on the senior team after recently graduating from junior tennis.

Cheruiyot is back in the team after missing Davis Cup Africa Group IV.

“I had other commitments during the Davis Cup, but I’m happy to be back to fight for a place in the African Games,” said the 26-year-old.

Changawa, 27, admitted it will be tough at the African Games.

“Only gold medal winners qualify for the Paris Olympics, so it will be tough. If I promise I will lift the title in Accra, then I will be lying to the country. I will take one match at a time and see how it goes,” said the former Kenya Open champion.

No Kenyan has ever qualified for the Olympics.