After failing to impress during the Rwanda Open that concluded on Sunday at Amahoro National Stadium outdoor tennis courts, Rwanda Tennis Federation president Kassim Ntageruka has urged local players to learnpositive lessons from their performance.
By Geoffrey Asiimwe
Sunday final resultsMen SinglesD. Indondo (DRC) bt D. Mugabe (UG) 6-3, 6-2WomenO. Nacy (DRC) bt S. Changawa (KEN) 3-6, 7-5, 6-0AmateursC. Kaningo (Rwa) bt T. Bahati (Rwa) 6-3, 6-4
After failing to impress during the Rwanda Open that concluded on Sunday at Amahoro National Stadium outdoor tennis courts, Rwanda Tennis Federation president Kassim Ntageruka has urged local players to learnpositive lessons from their performance.
Ntageruka made the remarks at the closing ceremony of the one-week tournament that attracted a total of 161 players from Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi, DR Congo, Uganda and hosts Rwanda after a 15-year long wait.
"Our players should learn from their modest performance in this tournament and focus on improving their game. Yes, they have not had enough international competitions recently, but now it’s time to take advantage of Rwanda Open experience to make a breakthrough on the international stage,” said Ntageruka.
Rwanda fielded the top three seeds namely; Ernest Habiyambere, Olivier Havugimana and Dieudonne Habiyambere in the Men’s Singles, but none of them managed to make it to the semi-finals. Dieudonne Habiyambere (number three) bowed out in the second round while Rwanda’s number one Ernest Habiyambere and number two Havugimana were knocked out in the last eight.
In the women category, Rwanda had a total of 10 players, and only seed one, Meganne Ingabire, managed to reach the semi-finals where she lost to DR Congo’s Nancy Onya, who went on to win the title.
Ntageruka added that, "However, we are glad that we had a very successful tournament and we hope to have a better one next year and we also hope that our players will be among the title contenders.”
DR Congo’s duo Denis Indondo (men) and Nancy Onya (women) dominated the tournament winning titles in their respective categories.
Apart from the trophies, Indondo and Onya bagged US$1000 and $750, respectively, while runners up Duncan Mugabe, from Uganda, and Shufa Changawa of Kenya walked away with US$600 and US$500, respectively.
Christian Kaningo beat his compatriot Theoneste Bahati in straight sets 6-3, 6-4 to claim the Amateurs title.
In the men’s doubles, DR Congo’s Indondo and Nkulufa won the US$300 in prize money after beating Rwanda’s pair of Olivier Havugimana and Dieudonne Habiyambere 6-2, 6-3.
In the women’s category, Changawa (Kenya) and Onya (DR Congo) defeated Rwanda’s Ingabire and Gisele Umumararungu 6-3, 6-3, to pocket US$300 prize money.
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