Raguin advances to finals in Abidjan
He said the success of the youngster is testament to the strategy of the association regarding talent identification and development.
“I believe our plan is bearing fruits, you look at Ntungamili, before he competed at the previous two continental championship, we [BTA] organized some competitions which gave him points to qualify for those championships. It takes good planning to ready the players to compete at that level, so the tournaments that we host are really important,” he said.
Ntungamili is currently based in France and Thipe emphasized the importance of exporting local talents to more advanced countries which will give them exposure to high level competition and the number one seeded male player, Denzel Seetso is also plying his trade in USA thanks to college sport.
The BTA president further added that they are working hard to improve their structures and capacitate their coaches and umpires to bridge the gap on more advanced countries in the continent and also match the levels which the players are exposed to on the international stage.
He added that the success of local players puts the association in a good position to attract sponsors and also put the local game in a strong position to get recognition of the World Tennis Federation and Confederation of African Tennis as BTA looks to host world class tournaments in the future.
Ntungamili’s sister, Naledi Raguin was also out sweating on the court and she reached the finals of the tournament in her maiden ITF World Tennis Tour Junior girls events—she lost 6-1, 6-4 to top seeded Sofie Hettlerova of Czech Republic.
“It is really important for parents to support the players, the Raguins’ have done really well to ensure that they also carry the load to support the players, it is commendable what they do. Where we fall short they always come through to assist, we really appreciate and encourage other parents to do likewise,” Thipe sang praises of the Raguin family post Abidjan tournament.
There has been reports that the French Tennis Federation (FTF) had previously expressed keen interest to lure Ntungamili to represent them, BTA however has stood strong to retain the allegiance of the young sensation to compete carrying the Botswana Flag.