Author: The Nation

Team Lagos yesterday at the 20th National Sport Festival claimed its first gold in the mixed poomsae of taekwondo while Aminat Idrees was the cynosure of all eyes after showing her class in the event.

Apart from being part of the team that claimed gold, Idrees won individual medals with one silver and one bronze medals in individual women and team event poomsae for Lagos to claim one gold, one silver and two silver medals.

Also, the duo of Anuolowapo Opeyori and Godwin Olufia hit the semifinal in the team event of Badminton of the ongoing National Sports Festival taking place in Benin, Edo State, Nigeria.  Team Lagos defeated Team FCT (2-0) to set up semifinals with Team Rivers at the Etete Gymnasium Center in Sapele Road, Benin City, Edo State.

Opeyori and Olufia are the defending champions of the team event having won gold medals at the last National Sports Festival in Abuja in 2018.

Speaking after defeating Team FCT in the quarterfinal, Olufia stated that the success recorded so far is a result of continuous training and focus.

Team Lagos also won some medals after settling for silver and bronze medals in the six-a-side cricket event with Edo claiming gold medals in the men and women events.

It was Team Lagos’ women team that settled for silver while their men counterpart settled for bronze. Kwara won silver in the men and Akwa Ibom claimed bronze in the women events.

The swimming event of the ongoing National Sports Festival (NSF) tagged “Edo 2020” yesterday produced new records.

Ifiesegba Gagbe of Bayelsa became the new record-holder in the 100m freestyle women with her time of 1:01.54 minute.

She broke the record of 1:02.66min set by Okpilobo of Ondo State at the Lagos 2012 edition of the festival.

Similarly, Uwaje Ilayefa of Edo who came second with a time of 1:01.96 also surpassed the former record-holder time.

A new record was also set in the 200m butterfly women by Delta’s Timipamere Akiayefa.

Meanwhile, Bayelsa and Delta have started the rush for gold at the ongoing NSF by winning five gold medals apiece on Day 1 of the festival.

NAN reports that seven of the 10 gold medals won by both states came from the swimming competition.

While Team Bayelsa claimed three gold medals from the pool, Delta won four to close the opening day with five gold medals each.

Team Delta started the day with a gold medal in cycling when Ese Ukpeseraye beat 12 other cyclists to the finish line in the 80km road race for women.

NAN reports that in swimming, the 100m breaststroke men event was won by Foresight Osamezu of Delta with Edo and Cross River winning the silver and bronze medals respectively.

Bayelsa’s Ifiezegbe Gagbe won the women’s 100m freestyle, with Edo winning the silver and Delta’s Timipamere Akiayefa winning the bronze medal.

Again, Akiayefa of Delta won her first gold medal of the day after the bronze medal she won earlier.

The torch of unity of the 20th National Sports Festival (NSF) yesterday began a tour of Edo.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the torch will however only visit the headquarters of the state’s three Senatorial Districts, unlike how it was done previously.

Then, the torch had gone through all the Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state.

The torch-bearers are being led by Sixtus Omokhagbor, an aide to Philip Shaibu, the Chairman of the festival’s Local Organising Committee (LOC), who is also Edo’s Deputy Governor.

NAN reports that other members of the team include Osagie Ohaimu, national record holder in the 21km walk race, and Faith Fidelis, an 800m and 1500m specialist.

The first senatorial district billed to be visited is Auchi, headquarters of Edo North.

There, the Head of Service (HoS) of the Etsako West LGA is expected to receive the torch on behalf of the other six LGAs in the district. The torch is expected to move to Edo Central senatorial district where the HoS of Ekpoma, Esan West LGA will receive it on behalf of the district. The last place of visit will be Edo South senatorial district, where it will be received by the HoS of Oredo LGA on behalf of the district.

NAN reports that the torch named “Unity Torch” will be lit at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium on Tuesday by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, who will officially open the 20th NSF. The 20th NSF, tagged “Edo 2020” and the country’s biggest sports event, began on Friday with the arrival of state contingents of athletes and officials.

It will end on April 14 with the departure of all the participants and other visitors.

The Vice President Professor Yemi Osinbajo will today declare the Edo 2020 National Sports Festival open with the commissioning of facilities.

According to the programme for the opening ceremony, Osibajo will pay homage to the Oba of Benin before proceeding to the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium for the ceremonial opening.

The programme starts at 7:00pm and runs for two hours with a performance of the rich Edo cultural heritage, while musician Fire Boy will perform.

Minister of Youth and Sports Development Sunday Dare is expected to officially welcome the athletes,  while Governor  Godwin Obaseki  and his Deputy Comrade Philip  Shaibu will also be speaking on their readiness for the  festival.

To ensure compliance with Covid-19 Protocol, there will be restrictions to the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium with people gaining access with only an invitation card, while each state would present 20 athletes for the ceremony.

A record 550 volunteers will be on ground at the festival to ensure a hitch-free event.

Real Madrid wants some respect.

The 13-time Champions League winner has rarely been talked about as a top contender this season, and coach Zinedine Zidane and his players don’t hide the chip on their shoulders entering today’s quarterfinal against Liverpool.

“Yes, I think it’s true that we have been (undervalued),” Zidane said Monday ahead of the first leg in Madrid. “We deserve more. I have a lot of faith in my squad. I know what it is capable of.”

After consecutive eliminations in the round of 16 of the Champions League, Madrid lost some of its powerhouse status in the European competition despite winning three straight titles before that. And even after it made it to the last eight this season, it hasn’t attracted a lot of attention as a top favorite for the title.

“We can’t change that,” Zidane said. “All we can do is keep working hard. This team can overcome many things, it’s what is good about this club. We never take anything for granted. As long as there’s hope, there’s life. We are alive in both competitions and we will keep fighting and working hard until the end.”

Madrid was also counted out of the Spanish league until recently, but it enters the competition’s final stretch only three points behind leader Atlético Madrid and still in contention to repeat as champion.

“Zidane has made it clear that we have the right to be respected,” Real Madrid defender Nacho Fernández said. “We deserve to be respected and we deserve the opportunity to fight for the Spanish league and for the Champions League.”

Madrid’s slump in the Champions League coincided with the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo to Juventus, which happened after Madrid beat Liverpool in the 2018 Champions League final.

“Since that final Liverpool has won a Champions League title and we lost Cristiano Ronaldo, but there’s not a lot of difference between the teams,” Fernández said. “We’ve already shown our worth over the years.”

Nacho will likely replace the injured Sergio Ramos in central defense at the Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium today.

Reigning Nigeria women prize winner in the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon, Deborah Pam has tipped her husband Emmanuel Gyang who is the reigning champion in the Nigeria men’s event to rub shoulders with international elites and make the podium on Saturday.

The 2021 Access Bank Lagos City Marathon will hold Saturday, April 10, 2021.  Pam who recently gave birth to a baby boy will not be in Lagos but she believes the birth of their son will motivate the husband to finish among the top men.

“I am very confident that my husband can do even much better at this year’s marathon because our baby is an extra motivation for him”.

Indeed, doing well in Lagos is non-negotiable for Gyang as he has many plans around his family, especially his new boy from projected earnings from the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon.

“We have not done the baby dedication yet. I hope to do it after winning in Lagos by God’s grace” Gyang declared.

As for Pam, she remains eternally grateful for the role Access Bank Lagos City marathon has played in her career and now her family.

She said: “I want to thank everybody that is involved in the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon for the many things they are doing for us, the motivation and all. It is through the Access Marathon that we got married and now we even have our first child. I pray the almighty God will continue strengthening them and provide for them so they can even do more for us. I wish them a successful event this year and beyond”.

Pam says she is looking forward to returning to training maybe by August in time to be ready to make it to the 2022 edition of the Access Lagos City Marathon.

By Olalekan Okusan

Coach Purity Akuh is excited over the qualification of four wrestlers to the Tokyo Olympic Games from the African and Oceania Olympic Qualifier concluded in Tunisia at the weekend.

Three women – Blessing Oborududu, Aminat Adeniyi and Adijat Idris as well as Ekerekeme Agiomor in the men’s event picked their tickets to Tokyo from the three-day qualifiers.

A delighted Akuh told NationSport yesterday that he was particularly impressed with the women’s team that out of the four that competed, three were able to qualify.

“I am happy that we came here with four female wrestlers and three of them made the cut to Tokyo. I must also admit that it was an easy route to Tokyo because all other competitors are in good shape having been waiting for the qualifiers since last year. Unfortunately only of them could not qualify but I must also commend her for her good display,” Akuh said.

On the men’s team, he praised the wrestlers for their performance while he singled out Agiomor would went ahead to claim gold in the men’s 86kg after beating Algeria’s Fateh Benferdjallah 6-5 in the final.

According to United World Wrestling (UWW), Agiomor could not have scripted a better finish for himself. Despite a surprise start from the Algerian with a five-point throw after starting with a single attack, the Nigerian was trailing 5-6 in the final 10 seconds of the bout, and it was an exposure over the Algerian that fetched Agiomor the gold medal, thus managing to mount an inspiring comeback.

Five countries including Nigeria secured the 12 Olympic berths in men’s freestyle that were on the line on the final day of the African and Oceania Olympic Qualifier.

Algeria led the way by capturing four quotas while Egypt, Tunisia and Guinea-Bissau claimed two each. Senegal and Nigeria also registered their names by claiming a berth each for the Tokyo Olympics.

All is now set for tomorrow’s opening ceremony of the Ter Kunav Cup at the Vandeikya Township Stadium, Benue State by 3:30pm.

A statement by the Chairman, Vandeikya Local Government Football Council Robert Akpenpuun stated that sponsor of the competition and Chief Justice of the Federal High Court, Abuja, Justice John Tsoho and family would be in attendance as Special Guests of Honour.

Also expected are former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Michael Kaase Aondoakaa and other sporting dignitaries.

Meanwhile, chairman of the tournament’s organizing committee, David Ibi has assured of the council’s readiness to deliver another successful competition.

The event highlights will be the presentation of branded jerseys for the twelve teams as well as a Bajaj Branded Motorcycle that is expected to be won by a lucky fan through a raffle draw at the Finals of the competition.

Ter Kunav Cup is organized in honour of the paramount ruler of Kunavland in Benue State, the Ter Kunav, Chief Josephus Nyiyongu Achiaku and it is the third in the series of competitions organized by the Vandeikya Local Government Football Council.

By Oluwamayomikun Orekoya

Gernot Rohr has admitted that the Super Eagles missed Wilfred Ndidi during the midfielder’s long absence from the national team last year due to recurring injuries.

The Leicester City hard-tackling defensive midfielder had last played for the Eagles in their 4-2 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers win at Lesotho in November 2019 and missed the Algeria and Tunisia friendlies in October and the Sierra Leone AFCON qualifiers doubleheader in November.

In his absence, Eagles failed to record a single win, including a disastrous 4-4 draw with Sierra Leone in Benin City which almost put their AFCON qualification in jeopardy.

“I am happy for Ndidi’s return,” Rohr told NationSports.

“He was in wonderful shape for our two games. He is a very important player for the Super Eagles.”

“He has not been with us since November 2019 and without him it was difficult to win a match.”

Meanwhile, Rohr is already looking forward to the upcoming World Cup qualifying fixtures and has already started monitoring his players ahead of the games which start in June.

The three-time African champions rounded up their qualification campaign unbeaten for next year’s continental tournament with a 3-0 win over Lesotho at Teslim Balogun Stadium and will face Cape Verde, Central African Republic and Liberia in Group C of the second qualifying round of the Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifiers.

“We are currently scouting and monitoring our players as we are already preparing for our World Cup qualifiers,” the former Bayern Munich defender said.

“We are watching our players, just yesterday (Saturday) we saw the goal of Osimhen and Simy who also scored,” he added.