Top juniors eye glory in Gaborone

MARIUD NGULA The Namibia Tennis Association (NTA) selected 12 of its top U14 and U16 players to compete at the International Tennis Federation (ITF) / Confederation of African Tennis (CAT) Southern African Junior Individual and Team Championships, scheduled to take place from 9 to 17 January in Gaborone, Botswana. The team was sent off on Monday by the sports ministry at Olympia’s Central Tennis Courts in the capital, ahead of its departure on Wednesday. It will be accompanied by U16 boys coach Charlton Diergaardt, U16 girls coach Larushka Kruger, U14 boys coach Patrick Paulus and U14 girls coach Amore Theron, along with team manager Mara Kandjiriomuini. Namibia’s young prospects will test themselves against opposition from across Southern Africa, including hosts Botswana, with invitations also extended to South Africa, Angola, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The players taking to the court in the U16 boys section are Johan Theron, Jaden van der Westhuizen and Tadiwa Mombeyarara, with Natalia #Ouses, Elrica Nakusera and Secilia Nghitewapo in the girls’ section. In the U14 section, the boys category comprises Shafiishuna Shimali, Breyton Bezuidenhout and Pameni Paulus, alongside girls’ Milan de Lange, Azalea Nauises and Albertina Johannes. – [email protected]