12-year-old JSS2 student of Start-Rite International School, Abuja, Chukwudubem Amasiani, has visited former Senate Leader, Distinguished Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, to present to him the awards he earned as a result of his recent scintillating outings in lawn tennis tournaments held in different countries on the African continent.
Ndoma-Egba, a one-time Chairman of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), is the Chairman of the Advisory Board of Start-Rite Schools.
Receiving the young Amasiani, Nigeria’s number-one Under 12 and Under 14 tennis player in his office in Abuja, the ex-Senate Leader applauded him for doing the school and Nigeria proud in the various tournaments he participated in outside the shores of the country.
The erstwhile parliamentarian, who is an avid lawn tennis player, said he would continue to give the young tennis lad the needed encouragement and support in his determination to attain greater heights and make a career for himself in the game of tennis.
He was accompanied in the visit by the Principal of Start-Rite Schools, Mr. Femi Akinlade, the International Partnership Manager, Mr. Daniel Chukwuemeka, alongside his 10-year-old younger brother, Chukwubuikem Amasiani, a JSS1 student of Start-Rite who is equally doing well as an Under 10 player in the junior tennis circuit.
Only in 2023, Chukwudubem, the 12-year-old tennis wizard has featured in over 10 finals, winning 8 and performing splendidly in others.
Following his triumph at the ITF/CAT West and Central Africa U-12 Junior Team Competition held in Ghana, Chukwudubem qualified as a West African champion to represent Nigeria in the African finals in Morocco where he finished an impressive fourth place in a Championship that had participants from different countries across Africa.
In Egypt, he set an unprecedented record at the Pharoah’s Bowl becoming the first and only Nigerian teen ever to have played to the final stage of the tournament emerging second in both the U-12 and U-13 categories.
Within the Nigerian soil, some of the tennis tournaments Chukwudubem has won include: SNEPCO Junior Tennis Championship Port Harcourt, November 2021 – U10 category; SNEPCO Junior Master Tournament Lagos, July 2022 – U12 Category; Alhaji Isa National Junior Opens – Nigerian Tennis Federation Lagos, August 2022 – U12 Category; SAPETRO Futures Tennis tournament Lagos, August 2022 – U12 Category; AZIMUTH Shipping Line Junior Tennis Tournament Lagos, January 2023 – U12; CBN Junior Open U-12 title, Lagos 2023; NNPC/SNEPCO Junior Master Finals, Yenogoa, Bayelsa State, July 2023; Abuja U14 Tournament, July 2023 and Alhaji Adewale Isa Memorial Junior Tennis Championship in the U-14s Lagos, August, 2023.
A report by Start-Rite Schools indicates that “As a student of Start-Rite Schools Abuja, Chukwudubem is also academically excellent. With support from home and in school, he has managed to balance academics and sports which remains an inspiration to the school community. Start-Rite Schools is proud to be a part of his journey and remains committed to providing the flexibility he needs to pursue his dreams and passions.
“Chukwudubem’s dedication, versatility, and commitment makes him a true embodiment of Nigeria’s spirit and potential, embodying the essence of a rising star destined to illuminate the nation’s sporting landscape for years to come.”