Mr Isaac Aboagye Duah, president of the Ghana Tennis Federation (GTF) has expressed worry over the failure of Ghanaian players to make an impact in the just ended McDan ITF World Tour.
According to him, Ghana’s inability to get players to at least reach the semi final stage was indicative of how low the sport has sunk and urged the current generation of players to work harder for future championship.
Speaking after the tournament on Sunday at the Accra Sports Stadium, Mr Aboagye Duah said considering the nature of the tournament that attracted players from all over the world, it would have been a dream come true if any Ghanaian had qualified to the semi final stage.
“In fact, watching and seeing no Ghanaian compete to the latter stages of the tournament was sad. It speaks volumes of where we are with the sport. This should let us sit up and get the basics and structures right so we can churn out world beaters to hoist the flag of Ghana on the big stages,” he said.
Ghana’s campaign was spearheaded by Jeff Bagabasseh, Bernard Ashitey Armah, Daniel Anum Quartey, Benjamin Fumi, Benjamin Palm and Andrews Appiah but all failed to reach medal stages.
But that notwithstanding, Mr Duah was of the view that Ghana has a bright future for tennis especially with the support offered by the corporate sector players led by the McDan Group.
He said that with the upgrade of the McDan Open to an ITF World Tour, it was time for Ghanaian players to show commitment and dedication to the sport and take the opportunity it brings to reach the top.
He commended McDan and the other sponsors for coming together to stage the competition.
“It is a high profile tournament a lot of tennis countries would want to host. We are grateful to McDan and the other supporters for making it possible.”
“With this support, the onus must now be on the players to train harder to be able to compete with the top players around the world.”
Mr Duah welcomed a pledge by the McDan guru, Dr Daniel McKorley to make Ghana a tennis hub and return the country to Euro/Africa zone two status.
He noted that can be a possibility if players and the coaches work hard enough, adding that the GTF will play its part to ensure Ghana produce a number of world beaters in the not too distant future.
BY TIMES SPORTS REPORTER
