By SAMUEL LUKHANDA –
NKUMBU Chonya yesterday won the Torkin Top 8 tennis tournament in Ndola to cement his position on the Zambia Tennis Association (ZTA) rankings.
The in form Chonya defeated Henry Banda in straight sets 6-1, 6-4 in the final that lasted one hour 15 minutes.
Chonya pocketed K2,500 as the winner, while Banda walked away with K2,000 as a runner-up.
The champion showed remarkable qualities and saved the best for the final as he had the lanky Banda whom he surprised early as he raced to a 4-0 first set lead before the latter pulled one back to end the set 6-1.
He had Banda bewildered with his shot selection and controlled the tempo of the match.
Banda dug deeper to find his way back into the match in the second set as the final livened up with some enterprising tennis.
Banda went on the attack early in the second as Chonya showed his remarkable defence abilities on the baseline.
Banda stepped up with big serves to take the lead as his confidence got a boost from the lead, only for Chonya to shut him down with a sideline win.
It was an interesting match that saw Chonya out-matching every challenge thrown at him by Banda, who got his legs twisted whenever he was stretched to the limit.
Banda laboured for every point to stay in the game showing some flashes but it was not enough as Chonya wrapped up the match 6-4.
Meanwhile, Banda was gracious in defeat, saying his opponent’s arsenal was too much for him to handle.
Chonya said he was nervous at the beginning because the last time the pair met it was a close affair.
To reach the finals Chonya beat Lwanga Lumbeta in the semis which saw the teacher (Chonya) face the pupil (Lumbeta).
The teacher gave the pupil another lesson in straight sets 6-3, 6-1 but the protégée showed a lot of promise.
Banda had to negotiate a dangerous tie with the energetic Eustacious Mwansa who pushed the finalist to three sets.
Mwansa was quick out of the block to take the first set as he went ahead 4-0 winning the set 7-5. The slow-starting Banda hit his stride and controlled the match to win it 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 as Mwansa, who is commonly known as ‘Dish’ seemed to be running out of energy.