FORMER Tennis Zimbabwe president Paul Chingoka, who died on July 13, was gentle giant and a passionate sports administrator par excellence.

Chingoka died in Harare following a lengthy illness. He was laid to rest at Warren Hills cemetery in the capital on July 17. It was a sad farewell for a man who brought the sport of tennis to the limelight in Zimbabwe.

His death is certainly a body blow to the sports fraternity as was evidenced by the respect heaped on the man by the local and international tennis fraternity including the International Tennis Federation (ITF).

Said the ITF: “The ITF is saddened to learn of the death of former Tennis Zimbabwe President and ITF Board Member Paul Chingoka.

“Chingoka, who helped transform tennis from an elitist sport to one that became popular throughout the country, saw Zimbabwe compete at the highest level of Davis Cup during his tenure – when the likes of Byron Black, Wayne Black and Kevin Ullyet helped to raise the profile of tennis in Africa during the late nineties.

“Chingoka was honoured with an ITF Award for Services to the Game in 1998, and sat on the ITF Board of Directors from 2001-2005. During that time he also held other roles for the ITF, including his position as Chairman of the Coaches Commission, and Member of both the Development Advisors Group and the African Zonal Davis Cup Committee.”

The ITF tribute is a befitting honour for a man, who in stature was a giant and in everything he did.

During his tenure, Zimbabwe became one of the strongest tennis playing nations in the world, at some point  competing well with established nations like the United States.

Yes, the Americans were here at the turn of the millennium and it was their first visit not just to Zimbabwe, but in Africa for a Davis Cup encounter that had another United States legend John McEnroe on the bench. It was an extravaganza of high magnitude watching top drawer matches that featured the Black brothers Wayne and Byron.

The game of tennis became a symbol of national unity and pride because of the diverse crowd that backed the locals. All because of Chingoka’s leadership.

While the fallen giant must be given credit for taking the game to its dizzy heights, the late administrator should receive more kudos for taking the game to the people. He literally took tennis to the ghetto, producing names such Gwinyai Tongoona and Martin Dzuwa, to name just but a few.

He became president of Tennis Zimbabwe in 1991, a position he would hold for over a decade and a half, and was also president of the Confederation of African Tennis (CAT) from 2003-07.

He was chef de mission of tennis at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and was chef de mission of the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee in Sydney for the 2000 Olympics.