No rest for lawn tennis star Lumeta
Morroco-based lawn tennis whizkid Chisomo Lumeta is expected back home this weekend for a holiday, but he will not rest as he will go straight into training camp in preparation for the Southern African Junior Circuit Championships in Botswana on January 4 2014.
The 15-year-old, who recently relocated to the North African nation following the shifting of High Performance Centre (HPC) from South Africa, will be the only Under-16 player in the seven-man squad that has Under-12 and Under-14 players.
The other players Anderson Mdala, Honest Soko, John Nkhoma and Remish Banda alongside female athletes Mwaiwawo Kamanga and Linda Msiska, who are currently training on their own until they get into a week-long joint camp in Blantyre on December 26.
Lawn Tennis Association of Malawi (LTAM) president Francis Mwansa defended Lumeta’s inclusion in the squad, saying as per International Tennis Federation (ITF) requirements, athletes have to remain active throughout the year despite holidays so that they do not go down in form.
“Of course, the holiday is meant to give the young athlete a chance to rest after intensive training and competitions at the HPC, but we also have to keep in mind that he needs to be active to consolidate his shape,” said Mwansa.
He said the Under-12 and the Under-14 players have been selected into the team so that ITF can assess them for possible inclusion into the HPC.
Lumeta, who has been in the HPC since 2009 when he won a scholarship following his outstanding performance during a similar championship in South Africa, will be on a month-long holiday from his Morocco base. Then, he won gold in the Under-12 category.
He is expected to be in the ITF Centre until he turns 18. He is being nurtured to become a professional player capable of participating in high-profile competitions such as the ITF Wimbledon Championships.
