Rwanda national tennis team is set to put on good performance at the upcoming 11th All Africa Games slated for September 4-19 in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo. The four-player team (two males and two females), coached by Eric Bimenyimana, has been training together since early July, and is set to depart for Brazzaville on September 7. Bimenyimana says his players are in good form going into the biggest sports event on the African continent, though he admits it will be very hard to win a medal—Rwanda has never won an All Africa Games tennis medal. “We are ready for the competition where we will face the best players from all over Africa so it is going to be a tough call (to win a medal) but we have prepared well,” Bimenyimana told Times Sport on Tuesday. He revealed that in morning sessions, the players do normal training and play matches against each other while in the afternoon, they go for physical fitness and gym, a routine they have been doing for nearly six weeks. Four years ago in Maputo, Mozambique, Rwanda was represented by four players including former number one, Jean Claude Gasigwa (deceased) but were all knocked out in the early stages. This year’s team includes the men’s and women’s number one and two, Dieudonné Habiyambere and Olivier Havugimana as well as Megane Ingabire and Gisèle Umumararungu. The quadrennial multi-discipline All Africa Games have a total of 22 sports and Rwanda will be represented in only eight. The 15-day long event has attracted over 15, 000 athletes from 54 African countries. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
