Nigerian athletes most frustrated – Tennis coach

Nigerian athletes are said to be more frustrated than their counterpart in other sport because of the treatment melted out to them and the neglect by government and other bodies.

A lawn tennis coach, Oke Joseph, said this yesterday in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital at the ongoing Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) Tennis League, which is also taking place at the Ilorin stadium.

Joseph, who is the coach of Techvibe team participating in the competition, said athletes generally need encouragement from government, organizations and well-to-do individuals to encourage them and bring life to other sport in the country.

“Tennis is one of the sports we play in Nigeria just like other sports but as NCC come up with this league in this category, it will help other sports in the sense that other organization can take clue from them, look at what they are doing in the area of tennis and chose another sport to be sponsored by them for competition. It will serve as encouragement to other organizations. Let me add here that Athletes in Nigeria are the most frustrated people and if they see this kind of competition and they know that huge amount is involved as prize at the end of tournament, there would be seriousness, discipline and commitment to take part actively in such competition which would be a source of motivation to athletes and in turn contribute positively to sport development in the country,” Joseph said.