Only a few could pinpoint Togo, a West African football-loving country neighbouring Ghana, with a population of less than one-third of Delhi, on the tennis map. For a stretch of 19 years, they were on a hiatus from the prestigious Davis Cup tournament, until the French-speaking nation made a return in 2022, and what followed was a remarkable turnaround. Togo won 10 of their 11 Davis Cup fixtures in the last two years, including a 3-2 win against Indonesia last year, followed by a stunning 4-0 victory over Latvia in their backyard, which earned them a promotion to the World Group I play-offs.
Up ahead lies a tougher opponent in India, who will have the home crowd behind them, but the spirited Togo side has their eyes on ‘history and recognition’ that is at stake.
The team that arrived on Monday in the Indian capital comprised just four players, captain Agnamba Ali and president of their tennis association Ahialey Clement Mawuli. Thomas Setodji is their only ranked player, placed at 1256, and the only one with a fair idea of all the Indian players, having come across them on the tour, where he also serves as a travelling coach of French player Calvin Hemery, who is ranked 206. The others include Liova Ayite Ajavon, Hod’abalo Isak Padio and M’lapa Tingou Akomlo.
None of these players, however, train in Togo. In search of greener pastures, all of them ventured to foreign lands. Three of them, including the skipper, live in the United States of America, and two in France. But they constantly remain in touch through WhatsApp. And when a Davis Cup tie is drawn, they come together, train, and win.
“Tennis, even as we’re here as a team, is an individual sport. Each player still knows the other. They know what to do to get ready. As we get together as a team, we train, we do what we have to do for the competition ahead. And I also think that these guys—believe it or not—we have a good chat that we talk regularly here, and then I mean either some jokes in the groups, whatever it is. So we may be a different part of the world, but we have a place where these guys can talk about the competition before coming here. So yeah, we have brought everything together when they need it for the competition,” said Agnamba.
The 50-year-old Davis Cupper may have sounded like a walk in the park for these players, but he admitted that the journey was far from difficult. More than earning recognition on the biggest stage, they were eager to prove doubters wrong back home.
“You mentioned soccer, but let me tell you, Togo always had a good tennis team. It just happened that we haven’t competed in Davis Cup for the last 19 years. So there’s nothing we’re doing right now that surprises us. But of course, we got some wins when people doubted we could come through, and then we did that. So I think Togo is such a small country, but we have very good, talented young athletes who are always coming up. So, I think we are on the verge of making history here. Hopefully, this will go out with it this weekend,” he said.
When further pressed what made these players stronger through the course of this journey, Agnamba reckoned it was down to having the “right attitude and team spirit.”
“This group of guys they’ve been since 2022, and I think it’s always like he said, I mean it’s a player against player, and you always have to expect the player to play the best. And if you have that attitude, nothing’s going to surprise you. So I mean, these guys have proven they can play against anybody, and then the results show. So with that mindset, the spirit of the team, I mean, we one group of players chasing the same drill, and I think the attitude is just going to be something that will carry us to the finish line,” he added.
Having admitted what is at stake for this visiting side, do Togo fancy their chances against an experienced Indian side? Steodji said anything can happen in sports.
“It’s one human against one human. We have two arms, two legs. So we will see. We already beat some players with high ranking as your players. So we’ll see on Saturday. And one day you can play very good. Another day you can play very bad,” he said. “It just depends on the day. So when you enter in the court, if you think that you can win, you can win. But if you come on court and you’re already lost, I mean, there’s no way to win a match. So that’s our mentality. And that’s maybe why we are here now.”
