So far, Nigeria’s first-ever beach tennis campaign has been laudable.
The Nigerian team to the 1st Africa Beach Games on the island of Sal in Cape Verde, led by Christy Agugbom and Blessing Samuel and coached by Abdulmumin Babalola, began their beach tennis campaign in the women’s doubles category on Friday, 14 June against Morocco, a match they lost. But the duo, who are ranked No.1 in doubles in Nigeria, bounced back purposefully to beat host nation, Cape Verde on Saturday.
In their opening match, the Nigerian duo were defeated in straight sets, with the Moroccan pair of Camilia Benabdeljalil and Sarah Benabdeljalil registering a 6-2, 6-2 win.
Agugbom and Samuel would return to action on Saturday against host nation, Cape Verde. And after falling behind early on, the duo combined brilliantly to rally from the opening set loss and beat the Cape Verdean pair of Silvia Nascimento and Jocilene Fernandes 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
L-R: Christy Agugbom, coach Abdulmumin Babalola, and Blessing Samuel in high spirits at the Africa Beach Games in Sal.
Nigeria’s last match will be against Algeria, who have lost both their matches against Cape Verde and Morocco, both of whom will face off on Sunday, 16 June.
Meanwhile, Morocco have won both their encounters- against Nigeria and Alegria. Should they beat Cape Verde on Sunday, they will clinch Gold. If Nigeria also defeats Algeria, they will claim at least Silver.
With a match-win at 2 points, Morocco sits atop the standings with 4 points, while Nigeria and Cape Verde are both on 2 points.
