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Even as players beat odds at home, tennis is far from finding a foothold in Togo
Even as Togo lost against India and failed to book their place in the World Group I in Sunday's match, the team may want to keep their hopes and spirits high.
The Togo tennis team has pulled off some unlikely victories in the last two years, morphing from an underdog to a force to reckon with. Togo didn't just beat odds on the field. At home, it has had to deal with the lack of sufficient facilities and support. "Togo has scripted a remarkable comeback story since its hiatus till 2022 but tennis is far from finding a foothold in our football-crazy African nation," said Yaovi Akakpo, a Togolese working professional currently based out of Gurgaon, who has spent over six years in India.
Dearth of training facilities has forced the Togo team's players to move and train abroad. Notably, two of the players, along with the captain, reside in the USA, while two others reside in France. Be that as it may, the Togo team banks on its talent and hunger to make a mark.
"You mentioned soccer but let me tell you, Togo has always had a good tennis team. It just so happens that we haven't competed in Davis Cup for the last 19 years. Our wins aren't the least bit surprising to me. People doubted us but we came through. Despite being such a small country, Togo keeps churning out good, talented tennis players," said Togo captain Agnamba Ali.
The Togo team's high spirits are in direct contrast to the dearth of facilities and lukewarm public support back home. Not much public information is available on the country's tennis training infrastructure and, according to Akakpo, "Not even 1% of the population will be able to name a single tennis player on the Togo team". This enterprising team has been playing on the back foot, which has possibly made their victories so far all the more sweeter.
Hod'abalo isak, who was comparatively the better player for Togo in their 0-5 drubbing against India in the World Group I play-offs tie in New Delhi's DLTA complex, is among the lucky few who cruised abroad for better infrastructure. Having enrolled himself at the Mercer University in Georgia, where he will compete in college tennis next week, the 20-year-old told reporters on Sunday that his plan to become a professional tennis player is still intact.
"I'm still young. I'm developing myself. I'm improving. And right now I have the opportunity to compete in college tennis at Mercer university in the U.S. honestly, I think it wasn't that bad. You know, it wasn't that bad today for me, but I'm just gonna go back and work with my coaches and try to continue working because, I mean, we still have, like, another match in September, and even before that, I'm going back and I'm having a match," he said.
"Three days after I get back to the US I have another college match. So, I mean, I'm still competing, I'm working, I'm trying to develop my game, you know, and of course, I want to become professional. I want to become professional, but, you know, for now, I'm just focusing on developing myself. If I have the opportunity to compete on the pro tour, I'm taking it. Last summer, I played some future tournaments, and this summer I'm also gonna play some future tournaments and, you know, try to get there and obviously, got to start from somewhere, you know, so it's just. I'm just getting started, to be honest here."
Has Togo's stellar winning streak changed the fortunes of tennis back home? Akakpo wasn't sure. "Even if the team pulls off a miraculous turnaround on Sunday, they would most likely still not be celebrated back home," he said. "Not much has changed when it comes to awareness around tennis. Hopefully, if the Togo embassy here sends out a message about the results to the ministers and the media back home, the team might get some attention. But then, I don't see a big crowd," he added.
Even as the team stumbled against India and failed to book their place in the World Group I in Sunday's match, the team may want to keep their hopes and spirits high. "It's like the opponents, they were good, of course. Could we have done better? I think, yeah, possibly. But I mean, I think we gave like, we try our best, we did what we could and the outcome is not in our favor. But I think it's like a good opportunity to. For us, we saw like what is working, what is not. So we just have to go back and get ready for the upcoming matches here," said 50-year-old Ali, who is also a former Davis Cupper, had said.
