Rain Delays Tennis Events

A heavy downpour which started on Wednesday morning and lasted till afternoon, delayed the commencement of 15 tennis event contests at the National Sports Festival in Port Harcourt.

The downpour left the courts used for the event at the Port Harcourt Club 1928 water-logged and forced the organisers to delay the events.

Mr Musa Bala, Official Referee of the Tennis event told reporters that 15 contests billed for Wednesday were affected by the downpour.

“The contests were in Men’s Doubles Semi Finals, Women’s Doubles Semi Finals, Men’s Mixed Doubles Quarter Finals and Women’s Mixed Doubles Semi Finals.

“Some of the affected contests include the Men’s Doubles Semi Final game between Rivers and Enugu, Women’s Doubles Semi Final game between Ogun and Rivers, among others,” he said.

Bala noted that there is fear that the inclement weather in Port Harcourt might affect the schedule of games for the event, being an outdoor one.

“We planned to hold the affected games on Wednesday and conclude all the final games on Thursday, but the weather condition has definitely disrupted the schedule.

“There is no way games can be played on water-logged courts, which necessitated the delay,” he said.

He however noted that the organisers would do all they could to ensure that the games were concluded before the end of the festival on Sunday.

The play resumed late on Wednesday after the organisers mopped the courts as the downpour seized.

Similarly, the downpour caused heavy traffic congestion within Port Harcourt metropolis as motorists spent several hours under the congestion, coupled by the restriction on some routes for the marathon event.

The down pour delayed the commencement of the marathon event and still affected its organization even after subsiding.

Mr Philip Waribo, a bus driver told reporters that the situation made the day frustrating for motorists especially commercial ones.

“Today was a bad one for us as our traffic frustration since the commencement of the sports festival, was heightened,” he said.