Oduke positive about growth

Support Ssenyondwa celebrates as Oduke leads the cheers. PHOTO/DEUS BUGEMBE

John Oduke remains one of the best to ever grace the court in Uganda tennis, his exploits saw him reach new heights by playing in the Davis Cup as captain on four occasions and at the prestigious Hamburg Open in German.
He now finds himself reliving his court days through coaching, a role that gave him something to cheer about on Sunday after his U-12 boys raced to the East Africa Junior Championship at the Lugogo Tennis Club. The feat booked the youngsters a place at the Africa Junior Tennis Championships where they will come up against the best on the continent.

Oduke feels the victory has come at the right time with a lot more to come from his boys in the near future. “This team is still fresh with no experience, this was their first major tournament and the performance was great,” Oduke said.  “They have shown us that they can turn into way better players with time and we have hope in them,” he added.

Abdul Latif Ssenyondwa, Ambrose, Bryaruhanga and Tony Blair Owecknimungu complete Oduke’s troops who brushed aside Burundi and Tanzania before tussling it out with Kenya for the continental ticket. 
Ssenyondwa took matters into his own hands with a remarkable display against Kenya on the final day. His finesse came off too mature for a 12-year-old and it tells why Oduke thinks it is just the beginning. 

Ssenyondwa defeated Kenya’s Ayush Bandari (1-6,6-4,6-4) on the final day “I’m happy I won, it was a tough fight but I somehow pulled through and I cannot wait for the next tournament,” said Ssenyondwa. 
His counterpart, Owecknimungu, fell to Kenya’s Jeff Okuku (6-2, 3-6, 4-6) before the Uganda teamed up to beat Okuku and Bandari (6-2, 6-2) in the doubles. The girls left with Bronze having finished behind Burundi and winners Kenya.

 The Ugandan boys gathered three points to edge Burundi who came second while Kenya and Tanzania finished third and fourth respectively. Uganda’s points came from seven matches won while they only lost two. 
The girls who were coached by Edward Odockchen managed a point over the six day tournament but had their moments especially when it came to Hilder Afoyrwoth. Uganda Tennis Association (UTA) president Cedric Babu lauded all who came together to make the event a success, he also promised a bigger and better 2022.