The Nation Newspaper

Category: Sports

  • Poulter: I know how to climb the rankings

    Poulter: I know how to climb the rankings

    Picture a press centre enthralled to see what happened next after Ian Poulter was asked whether he had ever thought about seeing a sports psychologist.

    Heavens, It must be Poults’s obvious lack of self-belief that prompted the question. All those vital putts he leaves short at a Ryder Cup.

    For a few seconds the Englishman appeared to be weighing up how he could reply politely. ‘Do you honestly think I need a sports psychologist?’ he began.

    ‘Are you crazy? Wow. I think there are people in this game who would pay me a fortune to be their sports psychologist.’

    Indeed they would, given there’s hardly anyone in the history of the sport who’s got more out of his game, and is less in need of the dark science.

    The 36 year old is right in his pomp just now, of course, still on a high from his stunning contribution to the miracle of Medinah and playing some of the best golf of his career. In three events since the Ryder Cup Poulter has won one, finished runner-up in another and fourth in the third.

    ‘It just shows what golf can be played when I focus my mind and I am going to work hard in my little head to keep the focus the same as it was at the Ryder Cup,’ he said. ‘I know I am dangerous when I have that frame of mind.’

    Could it be that seeing all those UK boys dominating the top five in the world rankings and the headlines also brought out the competitor in him?

    ‘I would say that I am good friends with a lot of guys who were playing a lot better golf than I was playing, so it did spur me on,’ he admitted.

    ‘It told me that I was capable of playing better golf but hopefully I’ve changed that picture now and it is time to kick on from this position.’

    Poulter, currently ranked 13th in the world, certainly has the chance to kick on at the tour’s grand finale, the Dubai World Championship, where the presence of every other member of Europe’s Ryder Cup team means there are oodles of ranking points on offer.

     

  • Show your talents, Igwe urges Team Rivers

    Show your talents, Igwe urges Team Rivers

    As the Team Rivers contingent arrives in Lagos, for the 18th National Sports Festival tagged ‘EKO 2012,’ the Rivers State Sports Commissioner, Fred Mbombo Igwe has said that the festival serves as another opportunity for the athletes from the state to showcase themselves for national and international recognition and for handsome rewards.

    The Commissioner stressed that Team Rivers has the collective and individual strength to defend the title in EKO 2012, a feat which they achieved convincingly last year in Port Harcourt during the Garden City games.

    He advised that the reward for medals should not be a thing of concern for now. “You would agree with me that athletes and coaches who won medals during the Garden City Games held in 2011 were handsomely rewarded by the Rivers State Government last year.

    “Rivers State Governor, Rt. Hon Chibuike Amaechi does not take the business of sports for granted. He believes sports to be one of the easiest ways to create the desired positive change in the state”, Igwe said.

    He also noted that Team Rivers would definitely smile at the end of the Games. “I have visited some athletes and I see confidence, determination and high spirits to win laurels. This is a time to make a difference for the state and for themselves as athletes”, Igwe urged.

  • Golden Eaglets land in Abuja

    Golden Eaglets land in Abuja

    Golden Eaglets would commence their practice sessions in earnest today at the NFF/FIFA Goal Project synthetic pitch ahead of their second leg-final round match against Mali this weekend.

    A team of 18 players and officials safely arrived in the Federal Capital Territory on Sunday evening aboard Arik Airlines from their Calabar camp base where they have won their three home matches including a 2-0 defeat of Junior Eagles of Mali.

    The second leg of their game against Mali would be played on a synthetic pitch hence the shift to Abuja for the team to perfect its strategy ahead of the trip to Bamako. The temperature on arrival in Abuja was 35°C which is similar to what was obtainable in Bamako at the same period and officials maintained the condition would suit their plans

    “ We thank God for granting us journey mercies from Calabar to Abuja and the players are really in high spirits looking forward to our first training session at the Goal Project on Monday ,” stated Suleiman Abubakar, the coordinator of the team. “Coming to Abuja is just the continuation of our preparations for the match in Bamako and it is strategic that the team play on a synthetic pitch before we travel to Mali.”

    The first leg of the final round match penultimate Sunday had ended 2-0 in favour of the Golden Eaglets at the U.J. Esuene Sports Stadium in Calabar. Nigeria is seeking a ticket to the 2003 African Under-17 Championship to be hosted in Morocco after missing the last two editions hosted by Algeria and Rwanda in 2009 and 2011 respectively.

  • Bauchi rewards 2011 medallists, contingent hits Lagos

    Bauchi rewards 2011 medallists, contingent hits Lagos

    Gov. Isa Yuguda of Bauchi State has released N5.4 million to reward medal winners at the 17th edition of the National Sports Festival (NSF) held in Port Harcourt in 2011.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the largesse came as Team Bauchi departed on Sunday to Lagos for the 18th NSF, tagged “Eko 2012’’ which begins on Tuesday.

    NAN recalls that the Bauchi contingent to the festival in Port Harcourt, tagged “Garden City Games,’’ won four gold, seven silver and seven bronze medals. Bauchi will be represented at this year’s festival by a contingent of 220, comprising technical and administrative officials and athletes, who will participate in 17 sports.

    The Chairman of the Bauchi State Sports Council, Tanimu Sa’idu, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the employment promised the 2011 medallists would be fulfilled in January 2013.

    Sa’idu said the athletes were in high spirits and had promised to do the state proud by winning more medals at the Lagos Games.

    According to him, the athletes would be well catered for in Lagos, to enable them to concentrate on the Games. Umar Sa’idu, Chairman, Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), Bauchi State Chapter, said that he believed the athletes were ready and well-equipped for the competition.

    He called on them to give their best and not allow any negative attitude either from the sports authorities or individuals to dampen their enthusiasm. Sa’idu, who spoke to NAN as the athletes were leaving, urged them to strive to be among the best, at the Games.

  • MOC warns states: No payment, no hostel accomodation

    MOC warns states: No payment, no hostel accomodation

    The Main Organising Committee (MOC) for the 18th National Sports festival in Lagos has said that athletes won’t be admitted into hostels unless their states showed evidence of payment.

    Elias Gora, Chairman, Accommodation and Welfare Sub-committee, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Lagos that failure to provide proof of payment would deny athletes access to the Games villages.

    He said that about 22 states had shown the committee evidence of payment for hostel facilities.

    The states are Yobe, Taraba, Sokoto, Plateau, Oyo, Osun, Niger, Nasarawa, Lagos, Kwara, Katsina, Kano, Imo, Ogun, Jigawa, Enugu,

    Delta, Cross River, Bayelsa, Anambra, Akwa Ibom and Adamawa.

    “We are set to give accommodation to athletes from the states that have proof of payment, we want to do that as fast as possible. This is to enable us to manage the athletes as they come. We want to make it easy for them and for us too,’’ Gora said.

    Gora, who was the country’s Chef de Mission to the 2010 New Delhi Commonwealth Games, said the condition of the Games Villages were conducive for athletes.

    “ The hostels are fantastic and we commend the effort of the Lagos State Government in providing such impeccable facilities,’’ he said.

  • Yobo plays again for 90mins

    Yobo plays again for 90mins

    Super Eagles skipper, Joseph Yobo was in great form as Fenerbahce thrashed Genclerbirligi 4 – 1 to cut the gap on Galatasaray by two points.

    The Nigerian who played for 90minutes in his fifth start since returning from injury will be a big boost for the Super Eagles’ defence as Nigeria counts down to its AFCON 2013 Group C opening game against the Stallions of Burkina Faso in Nelspruit.

    Meanwhile, in France, Utaka was also impressive despite playing for only 17minutes as Bordeaux missed the chance to go provisionally top of the French league after losing 1-0 at defending champions Montpellier on Sunday.

    Remy Cabella scored in the 68th minute to give struggling Montpellier its first victory in four matches.

    It was however disappointment for Efe Ambrose as Scottish Premier League side, Celtic Glasgow fell 0-1 to Inverness Caledonian Thistle in front of their home fans.

    The Nigerian, who looked calm in defence, though, and did well to deal with any danger which came his way, however failed to clear the line as a goal by Billy McKay just after the hour mark sealed the points for the visitors.

  • NFF’s aga to hold Dec. 13

    SportingLife can reveal exclusively today that the Nigeria Football federation (NFF’s) Annual General Assembly (AGA) will hold on December 13 in Port Harcourt, despite protests from some State Football Association members and other stakeholders.

    A decent source at the GlassHouse informed SportingLife on Sunday night that the NFF board members will convene in Abuja on Wednesday to endorse the December 13 date and venue which remains Port Harcourt.

    The source stated further that members would be given an opportunity to express their reservations based on comments made by the executive governor of Rivers State during the Presidential Sports Retreat held at the State House’s Banquet Hall, where he described the NFF as a body riddled with corruption.

    “It is true that the Rivers State governor made that the statement. But the governor also restated his position when confronted by the current board’s protest by saying that he was referring to the previous board not the Aminu Maigari-led board. As far as we are concerned, the governor’s immediate clarification explains why the AGA should hold in Port Harcourt.

    “We are in a democracy, so we will propose the December 13 date and venue for members to decide. There will also been a vote if the need arises. If those for Port Harcourt dominate the vote call, then, it will hold in Port Harcourt. Otherwise, we will look for an alternative venue. I don’t want to pre-empt what will happen on Wednesday but it is looking like the AGA will hold in the Garden City.”

  • Orugbani: Rowing exclusion not discouraging

    Orugbani: Rowing exclusion not discouraging

    Moses Orugbani, Captain of the Rowing Team of the Nigeria Rowing, Sailing and Canoe Federation (NRSCF), said on Sunday that the exclusion of the sport from the National Sports Festival (NSF) would not affect the sport negatively.

    The NSF, which is slated to commence on Nov. 27 in Lagos has 25 sports, with swimming as the only water sport.

    Orugbani told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in a telephone interview in Lagos that featuring the sport at the Games would not have helped it in discovering new talents because participation would have been poor.

    “It is not so bad that swimming is the only water sport at the festival, when we have rowing and canoeing. This is because the other water sports have yet to become popular in the country, so the turn out would certainly have been poor from the states.

    “There was a day I walked into a sports shop to ask for some kayaking gadgets and the seller looked at me with some amazement. He, then wanted to know from me whether such a sport existed in the country,” the Rowing captain said.

    It would be recalled that Nigeria got its first representation in the canoe event at the Olympics after 60 years of participation, at the London 2012 Games.

    British-born Nigerian, Jonathan Akinyemi, represented the country in the men’s K1 slalom.

    Orugbani told NAN that the lack of equipment, coupled with their expensive nature, also served as a deterrent in discouraging participation in Rowing.

    “The equipment we now have is inadequate and below standard. The equipment is not available in the country and has to be imported, hence it is expensive,” he said.

    Orugbani disclosed that the federation has been allowed to do an exhibition during the festival.

    “We have been informed that we shall be having an exhibition at the waterside of the University of Lagos (UNILAG). We hope that the exhibition will also help in popularising Rowing, during the festival,” he said.

    Maryam Momoh, a Rowing coach, said that she would have preferred that the sport was included in the fiesta because it would have helped in showcasing it to spectators.

    “I hope it will be included in the next sports festival because we really need such platforms to encourage more people to get to know the sport,” she said.

  • Pillars unsure of continental performance

    Pillars unsure of continental performance

    Kano Pillars’ head coach, Baba Ganaru, fears his team face an early exit from the 2013 CAF Champions League.

    Ganaru thinks inactivity now threatens his side’s campaign in Africa’s premier club football competition.

    The coach, who was nominated for the 2012 League Bloggers Awards (LBA) Coach of the Year in the NPL, believes the failure to start the league season in Nigeria could backfire on his CAF Champions League campaigning squad.

    “Yes, we have signed a number of quality players to strengthen our squad for next season and especially for the Champions League next year. But that is not enough as we need the league season to start so that we can feature in competitive games.

    “At the moment, we are only holding training sessions and taking part in friendly games which are totally different from competitive matches. If the league doesn’t kick off in time before the Champions League it will put us in a disadvantage as we start from the earlier rounds.

    “So there’s the possibility of us losing out early if we face a team that has been taking part in regular competitive games,” Ganaru told supersport.com.

    Reminded of Al Ahly’s feat of winning the 2012 CAF Champions League without their league in session for months, Ganaru explained that it will be baseless to compare club football in Egypt and Nigeria.

    “Al Ahly is different from Kano Pillars. And Egyptian club football is different from that of Nigeria. The league wasn’t in session there but Al Ahly kept featuring in different big games to keep their players in shape,” said Ganaru.

    “When I say big friendly games, I mean big and tested opposition. So it’s a totally different scenario here.”

    Kano Pillars were crowned Nigerian champions on 61 points from 36 matches last season.

  • Gov. Ahmed charges Team Kwara to be disciplined

    Gov. Ahmed charges Team Kwara to be disciplined

    Gov. Abdulfatai Ahmed of Kwara on Saturday advised the athletes who would represent the state at the 18th National Sports Festival in Lagos to be disciplined.

    The Games, tagged “Eko 2012’’ will hold from Nov. 27 to Dec. 9 in Lagos.

    Ahmed, represented by Isiaka Gold, the Secretary to the Kwara State Government, said this in Ilorin as he bid farewell to the athletes at the Ilorin Township Stadium.

    “Discipline and determination should be your slogan if you want to emerge victorious and make Kwara proud,’’ he said.

    The governor also advised them to portray good image and follow the rules of the Games and assured the athletes that the state planned good employment for its youths.

    Earlier, the Commissioner for Sports, Ramat Adeshina, urged the athletes to be prayerful and be focused to get the desired result.

    According to her, 109 athletes and 23 coaches will represent Kwara and she described the Games as a transformation and high profile event.

    “You are our ambassadors and we expect much from you. We will continue to support you with our hearts,’’ she said.

    Team Kwara Captain, Yusuf Omotola, promised that they would put in their best to make the people of Kwara proud.

    “We believe we can do it but we only need your prayers and support,’’ he said.