Author: The Nation

Nigeria’s Bolawa Akingbemisilu made his presence felt in his maiden international outing after upstaging some of the top players to settle for silver medal in class five division at the ITTF Lignano Masters Para Open 2023 concluded at the weekend in Italy.

Akingbemisilu who was part of the 16-man team sponsored by the Delta State government to the first hurdle to Paris 2024 Paralympic Games in France, settled for two silver and two bronze medals at the four-day F-20 ranking point championships.

Grouped alongside top rated players, he worked his way into the knockout stage where he caused one of the upsets after beating Commonwealth Games Jack Hunter 3-2 in the semi-final round.

Despite going down early in the game, the Nigerian fought back to beat the world number five and booked his place in the final against Serbia’s Mitar Palikuca.

Like he did in the semi-final, Akingbemisilu did not start well against the world number six but he rallied back and his efforts could not help him from losing the gold medal to the Serbian at 3-1.

The performance of Akingbemisilu was lauded by ITTF who tipped the Nigerian for the African title in near future.

Also, Commonwealth silver medallist Isau Ogunkunle earned the second silver in men’s class four after losing 3-2 in the final to Japan’s Kazuki Shichino.

Ifechukwude Ikpeoyi settled for bronze in the women’s class five while Kehinde Lawal also claimed bronze in the women’s class nine.

According to the team manager, Sunday Odebode, the players gave a good account of themselves among some of the top players in the world as some of them were making their maiden international outing.

Specifically, Odebode thanked the Delta State government for its immense support and ensuring that the team took part in the tournament which served as a pathway to the Paralympic Games.

“We hope that we can have another opportunity to compete in another tournament like this before the African Paralympic qualifying tournament in Egypt comes September. With their participation here, they have gained valuable points that will aid their eventual qualification to Paris. We thank Governor Okowa and Delta State Sports Commission for their huge backing to be part of this trip and we hope to win more laurels in major competitions like this,” he added.

Nigeria is the only African team that competed alongside 33 other countries with over 300 athletes competing in 39 events made up of singles and doubles divisions.

Nigeria Senior Women’s Cricket team will launch their title chase for the 3rd  NCF Women’s T20i Invitational Tournament with a tie with Sierra Leone today at the Tafawa Balewa Square Cricket Oval, in Lagos.

Local Organising Committee Chairman, Barrister Chuma Anosike, said he was confident that the tournament would be a show of good cricket, adding the Women’s Yellow Greens will give a good account of themselves at the event.

“It would be my joy for the Nigerian team to win but a good tournament for me will be one that all teams have a good experience,” he said.

The tournament is supported by Access Bank, Lagos State Government, Alaro City, EKO Electricity distribution company, Pets Foundation, Aries Suites, and Geregu Energy.

Meanwhile, team’s coach  Leke Oyede said that the team that has been in camp for three weeks,  are battle ready for the event.

“When the team files out against Sierra Leone, my job is to present a confident and disciplined side. Most of the players on the team are well-exposed, and we have planned to win every match we enter at the event, irrespective of our opponent,” he said.

Also, defending-champion of the tournament, Rwanda will face Ghana later today on the first day of the event.

Debutant, Cameroon will face host Nigeria  tomorrow in their first match of th-tournament while Ghana will square-up with Sierra Leone for the second match of day two.

In the meantime,

Thursday has been designated as a rest day; after each of the teams would have tested at least two of their four opponents in the ten-match series.

“Last year’s experience at the event is what we are building on,”  AAnosik further said.“And beyond the action on the pitch, we have plans to make the rest day a memorable one, and we are glad that some of our partners are supporting us to make this a key part of the event.”  he added

Nigeria’s matches against Ghana and Rwanda, are scheduled for the second phase of the event; on Friday, March 31st , and Saturday, April 1st  respectively.

Oyede said: “I believe those matches will weigh in more on winning the event or not, and we have prepared so far to win, so expect a more experienced team and an interesting encounter in all.”

Rwanda and Nigeria are the two highest-ranked T20i teams at the event, they sit on the log at 27th  and 29th  respectively; while Sierra Leone is 28th . Ghana and Cameroon Women’s national teams are currently not ranked by the International Cricket Council.

Manager Mikel Arteta challenged his Arsenal players to maintain their mind-set following the international break after they beat Crystal Palace to go eight points clear at the top of the Premier League.

The Gunners have won six consecutive league games as they aim to become champions for the first time since 2003-04.

They have 10 matches left, including clashes with Liverpool, second-placed Manchester City, Chelsea and Newcastle. Their next game is against Leeds at home on 1 April.

“We can control our games. We have won six games in a row in the league, which is great,” said Arteta. “It feels very good, especially with the way we have played and the results we have picked up.

“Now we must stop and make sure everyone comes back from the internationals with the same mind-set. We have Leeds next and we put the focus there.”

Arsenal have 69 points from 28 matches, with second-placed Manchester City, who beat Burnley 6-0 in the FA Cup quarter-finals on Saturday, on 61 points having played a game less.

The Gunners went ahead at Emirates Stadium through Gabriel Martinelli’s left-footed strike – his sixth goal in six league matches.

Bukayo Saka doubled the lead when he collected Ben White’s pass and curled an effort past 19-year-old goalkeeper Joe Whitworth.

Granit Xhaka made it 3-0 with a first-time finish from Leandro Trossard’s assist, before Jeffrey Schlupp pulled one back from close range following a corner for Palace’s first goal in five matches

But the excellent Saka restored Arsenal’s three-goal advantage with a guided finish from Kiernan Tierney’s pull-back to seal the victory.

Palace sacked manager Patrick Vieira on Friday and have now not won in 13 games in all competitions and are only three points above the relegation zone.

Rivers United yesterday qualified for the quarterfinal of the CAF Confederation Cup after a 2-2 draw with Congo’s Diables Noirs in a Group B clash.

It was an early berth for the Nigerian side who still have a game at hand.

The Congolese side who defeated Rivers United in match day 1 can still be hopeful of also getting to the quarter finals, even with the drawn game with Rivers United.

Rivers United have 10 points from five matches, three points ahead of ASEC Mimosas from Cote d’Ivoire, who faced Motema Pembe of DR Congo in the other game yesterday.

Diables Noirs are third with five points, while Motema Pembe have two points.

Rivers United will finish top of the group should they avoid defeat in their final game at ASEC.

Yet, like they began badly the group series in February, they came back from a self-inflicted goal to lead 2-1 following a brace by striker Nyima Nwagua in the 73rd and 77th minutes.

The Congolese drew level in the 81st minute to keep their quarter-finals dreams alive.

Samuel Chukwueze continued with the form of his life as he scored to inspire Villarreal to win 3-0 against Osasuna yesterday.

‘Samu’ has been involved in six of the last seven goals scored by Villarreal either by scoring or assisting and he hit target after just 14 minutes as Villarreal went on to record a comfortable win on the road.

Quique Setién’s side outplayed their opponents with a serious and very convincing performance. A goal from Chukwueze and two from José Luis Morales earned the three points in Navarre. A victory that consolidates the team’s position in the European zone.

The Submarine took an early lead at El Sadar as Chukwueze once again showed that he is in fine form, scoring a fantastic goal with his knee.

Alfonso Pedraza slipped a pinpoint ball into the box for the Yellow’s No.11 to connect with, and he put it on target to put the Submarine ahead.

Three minutes later, Chukwueze made it 0-2, but it was disallowed for a very fair offside. The Nigerian finished brilliantly after a fantastic through ball from Yeremy Pino. It was a pity for Setién’s side that it didn’t go in.

The win has lifted Villarreal to sixth place and into the bracket for European football next season.

They have 41 points from 26 matches.

Alex Iwobi is not ready to commit his future to Everton even as the management of the club is keen to extend the contract of the Nigeria international striker .

However the midfielder, 26, is taking his time in deciding his future as the club battles relegation and he has the safety of a year left on his current deal, which runs until the summer of 2024.

Clubs in the Premier League and across Europe are keeping close tabs on Iwobi as they weigh up moving for him in the upcoming window.

The Toffees are keen to extend the contracts of more key players after tying down goalkeeper Jordan Pickford to a new long-term deal last month.

Iwobi has started all 27 of the club’s Premier League matches this season and has also completed all but three of them in a remarkable testament to his significance to the team.

Everton paid £28m up front for the former Arsenal man and have also paid a further £7m in add-ons since he arrived in 2019.

The club are keen to secure the market value of a player they consider to be just as crucial under Sean Dyche as predecessor Frank Lampard.

Iwobi is regarded as one of the club’s major assets and capable of securing a big fee.

Reigning King of the Pitch and Queen of the Pitch, Victor Osimhen and Asisat Oshoala respectively are in with excellent chances of retaining their awards at the 9th Nigeria Pitch Awards Ceremony which holds at the Great Margaret Hall of the John Woods Hotel, Abuja on Friday evening.

Osimhen, with 23 goals in 28 matches for Italian Serie A side Napoli this season, is currently one of the world’s leading marksmen.

His four goals have helped the Italian club reach the quarter finals of Europe’s top club competition, UEFA Champions League, for the very first time. At international level, his four goals against Sao Tome and Principe in a 2023 AFCON qualifier in Agadir, Morocco nine months ago helped Nigeria to a record international win of 10-0.

The gangling young forward has recently won the Best Foreign Athlete and Player of the Month awards in Italy. He battles Ademola Lookman, Alex Iwobi and Paul Onuachu.

Oshoala, who features for FC Barcelona Femenin in Spain’s top division, scooped the Pichichi Award as the league’s joint-highest goalscorer with 20 goals, which helped her club win the league title. Her club also won the Spanish Super Cup. She is in a contest with Super Falcons’ team-mates Rasheedat Ajibade and Gift Monday.

There are 18 categories in all where winners will emerge on Friday night: King of the Pitch; Queen of the Pitch; Striker of the Year; Goalkeeper of the Year; Defender of the Year; Midfielder of the Year; Team of the Year; Coach of the Year; Sam Okwaraji Award; State With The Best Grassroots Football Development Programme; Football Pitch of the Year; Football-Friendly Governor of the Year; Corporate Sponsor of the Year; Sportsmanship Award; Football Journalist of the Year-Print; Football Journalist of the Year-TV; Football Journalist of the Year-Radio and; Football Journalist of the Year-Online

The four media categories hold interesting prospects, with Kunle Solaja, honoured by football’s world-governing body at last year’s World Cup finals in Qatar for having covered 10 FIFA World Cup finals, in the race for Football Journalist of the Year-Online. Tobi Adepoju and Shina Oludare are the other contestants.

In Football Journalist of the Year-TV, SuperSport ace Mozez Praiz is in the race with TVC’s Promise Efoghe and Channels’ Cecilia Omorogbe. In Football Journalist of the Year-Print, The PUNCH’s Sports Editor Tana Aiyejina is in the contest with Charles Diya and Johnny Edward, while Emmanuel Etim tops the shortlist for Football Journalist of the Year-Radio, which also has Yinka Oyedele and Tony Bekederemo.

Three eminent personalities, viz Edo State Deputy Governor Philip Shaibu, billionaire investor Kunle Soname and former NFF 1st Vice President Seyi Akinwunmi are shortlisted for Sportsmanship Award, as are MTN, Bet9ja, Coca-Cola and AITEO for Corporate Sponsor of Football.

Rivers State Governor, His Excellency Nyesom Wike, CON and Governors Babajide Sanwo-Olu and Godwin Obaseki of Lagos and Edo States respectively contend for Football-Friendly Governor while Edo, Lagos and Delta jostle for State With The Best Grassroots Development Programme. Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Remo Stars Stadium and Godswill Akpabio Stadium are in the race for Football Pitch of the Year.

The Flamingos, bronze medallists at the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup in India, battle Rivers United and Remo Stars for Team of the Year, and Rivers United’s Stanley Eguma tops the list for Coach of the Year, which also has Gbenga Ogunbote and Bankole Olowookere.

Disappointed with his quarterfinal exit at the just concluded WTT Singapore Smash, Quadri Aruna has admitted that his Brazilian opponent Hugo Calderano was well prepared for the tie.

Aruna who set a new record as the first African to reach the quarterfinal of the WTT Singapore Smash, had a good run from the first round to the last 16 where he edged out world number four Tomokazu Harimoto.However, he was not at his best in the quarterfinal against world number five as Calderano beat the Nigerian 4-0 (11-7, 12-10, 11-2, 11-2).

“It was not that I lose focus from the start of the match because I tried a lot in the first set,” Aruna admitted in an interview with NationSport. “I also tried harder in the second set when I was leading 9-6, three points ahead but failed to seize the opportunity to convert the game to 1-1.

“But Calderano went ahead to take a 2-0 lead which gave him more confidence. He came fully prepared for the game and the game became more difficult for me.

“It is unfortunate to lose in such circumstance but I hope to return again in the next competition in China,” Aruna said.

Meanwhile, ITTF High Performance Elite Coach Massimo Costantini, who watched the match at the Infinity Arena in Singapore told NationSport that Aruna was not in his good element during the match.

“I think that was not Aruna playing because he was not himself and he could not do all he did against Harimoto in the last 16,” the former Indian national coach said. “He did not start well especially in the second game when he was leading to have lost 12-10.

“There is no doubt that he played his best in this competition and I still believe he would continue to improve in every competition with the way has been playing lately,” he added.

In a related development, Calderano who later lost the semi-final match to Olympic champion Ma Long of China, revealed how he was able to edge Aruna in the quarter final match.

“I was down 9-6 on the second set and it was very important to win that set,” , Calderano said.“He had a different rhythm to the game and once I adapted to it, it was easier to play and I think I started to play better in the rallies at the second set. I made some easy mistakes but throughout the match I was probably better.

“I think the service and receiving are really important. I had to play really well tactically and it was just a matter of keeping focus on the important moments to close the game,” he added.

Super Eagles coach Jose Peseiro has defended his choice of players for the upcoming double header against Guinea Bissau as the race to qualify for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire gathers steam.

Amid outcry that Peseiro did not extend many call ups to home-based players in the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL), the Portuguese exclusively told NationSport that he stuck with the tried and tested stars for obvious reasons, adding his overall objective of winning the country’s fourth continental title in Abidjan is still alive.

“As you all know, our goal is to qualify for AFCON, and then win the competition,” the former Sporting Lisbon coach told NationSport exclusively. “We are first in the group (Group A), we broke the record goals in a game against Sao Tome, and played friendly games against strong teams, where we have tested and evaluated individual and collective situations.”

Peseiro who is nearing one year in charge of the Super Eagles, remains unperturbed about his scorecard of two wins and four losses, adding there are reasons to be positive about the chances of the team under his watch.

“We played six games, we won the two official ones, so we are in first place, and we lost the four friendlies, where we wanted to win, but the most important thing was to know, evaluate, test our players, and develop the organization or our team.”

Peseiro further countered the impression that there were few new faces in his 23-man squad against Guinea Bissau.

“It’s possible (to have new players),” he said shortly before the list was released last Thursday. “But you have to realize that to make an organized and spirited team, you can’t change the players much.

“ The short time of work in the selection, forces us to maintain a stable group of players,” he added.

Victor Osimhen yesterday thanked Napoli fans for their ‘creative ways of showing love for me’ – including a mascot, a dog and a cake – after a thumping 4-0 victory over Torino.

It has been a remarkable week for the Partenopei, who pushed past Eintracht Frankfurt to book their Champions League quarter-final against Milan and currently sit 21 points clear at the top of the Serie A table after a 4-0 win away to Torino.

The Nigerian is making towering headers his trademark and netted two of them, along with a Kvicha Kvaratskhelia penalty and Tanguy Ndombele’s debut Serie A goal.

The brace was his 21st Serie A goal, equalling the record set by Samuel Eto’o at Inter in 2010-11 for most goals from an African player in a top flight campaign.

“It feels great. The support has been overwhelming. It’s good to have our fans here, there are so many here and we are surprised to see them,” Osimhen told DAZN after 10,000 Napoli fans flocked to the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino, almost out-numbering the home crowd. “It is good to have this win, I want to congratulate the team and we must keep going like this.”

The crowd was singing ‘we’ll win the tricolor’ at the final whistle, and their lead at the top remains a minimum of 18 points, but could rise to 21 depending on this evening’s results.

“Of course, they are really hoping, it’s been so many years, they believe and nobody deserves this more than the Napoli fans. And we are happy that we are on the right track to deliver them this prestigious prize and hopefully something more.”

Osimhen’s trademark protective mask has become an inspiration for Napoli supporters, as well as his bleached hair, and today even one of the mascots who led out the team was doing his best to emulate the striker.

“I saw the kid with my hair colour, then he put on the mask and I was surprised! I wanted to take a picture of him, but we had to start the game. I hope I can give him my shirt afterwards.”

The last few weeks have seen everything from cakes made in Osimhen’s image to dogs dressed up as the centre-forward, which he published on his Instagram account.

“I think everyone has been creative with the way they tried to show their support and love for me. The latest one that really blew my mind with a dog wearing a mask and I think he had pasta on his head!

“The Nigerian fans are supportive too, I am really happy to put a smile on their faces and I want to keep this momentum going.”