Shufaa, Cheruiyot in Kenya squad for Africa Nations Cup
What you need to know:
- Five women and six men have been drafted in the teams that will be coached by Rosemary Owino and assisted by Caroline Oduor, a former Kenya Open Ladies Champion.
- The 14th edition of the continental event will feature 20 countries among them Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, Egypt, Algeria, Zambia, Tunisia, Sudan and South Africa.
Kenya Open Tennis women’s champion Shufaa Changawa and Kevin Cheruiyot have been included in the country’s provisional squads for the Africa Nations Cup to be held at Nairobi Club from November 7-13.
Five women and six men have been drafted in the teams that will be coached by Rosemary Owino and assisted by Caroline Oduor, a former Kenya Open Ladies Champion.
The final squad will see four players from each category represent the country at the week-long competition.
In the women’s team, only three players have confirmed their availability for training. Shufaa, Faith Nyabera and Paige Mbugua are back in training for the continental showpiece.
National and East African Secondary Schools champion Judith Nkatha has also been included but looks set to miss out as she will be sitting her Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations.
An invite has also been sent to UK-based Nikita Dawda who plays on the College Circuit. According to coach Owino, the country stands a great chance of winning its maiden competition.
“We have good players in the squad and I think with better preparations we can fancy our chances of lifting the title,” Owino told Daily Nation Sport on Wednesday. Shufaa, who won her second Kenya Open title in June, will anchor Kenya’s title charge.
On the men’s side, Kenya will miss the services of number one and current Kenya Open men’s champion Ismael Changawa. Ismael, an elder brother of Shufaa, is currently based in the United States and his college commitments means he won’t be able to Nairobi early November.
In his absence, two members of this year’s Davis Cup team – Kevin Cheruiyot and Ibrahim Kibet - have been included in the squad.
KOTECHA, NJOGU TO FEATURE
The others will be youngsters Sheil Kotecha and Albert Njogu who will be joined by Petty Andanda and Ronny Ndinya who is currently in California on the Futures Circuit.
The 14th edition of the continental event will feature 20 countries among them Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, Egypt, Algeria, Zambia, Tunisia, Sudan and South Africa.
South Africa won the last edition held in Congo Brazzaville two years ago with Tunisia and Algeria finishing in second and third places respectively.
Kenya will be making a return to the biennial event after missing the last five editions.
The country will also host the African Masters Under-14 competition during the same week.
The competition will bring together the top eight boys and top eight girls in Africa competing for honours. Home players Sneha Kotecha and Ryan Randiek are currently on the log to represent the country.
