The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Championship

  • Team Nigeria wins 21 medals, leading Africa Wrestling Championship

    Team Nigeria wins 21 medals, leading Africa Wrestling Championship

    Team Nigeria has won a total of 21 medals, leading the medal table at the ongoing Africa Wrestling Championship holding at the Alfred Diete-Spiff Civic Centre, Port Harcourt.

    The medals comprise nine gold, five silver and seven bronze.

    In the women category, the team won 10 medal- six gold, two silver and two bronze- while men have 11 medals of three gold, three silver and five bronze.

    The medals were won in the concluded events of cadet Freestyle, cadet Greco-Roman and cadet women’s Wrestling.

    Read Also: Nigeria leads with 15 medals at African Wrestling Championship

    A 16-year-old Stephen Akintewe of Akure High School, Akure, Ondo State, won a gold medal in the 60kg cadet attributing his victory to hard work.

    Akintewe  said that he gave his all to training and took each bout cautiously following his coach’s instructions.

    “While preparing for this tournament, I took all corrections seriously and did all that the coach asked me to do.

    “This victory is as a result of hard work and taking each fight as they come.

    “This is my first appearance at the Africa Championships and I’m very happy to win the gold medal, ” he said.

    The gold medalist added that the feat would spur him to get better in the game so as to further represent the country at future tournaments.

    “I believe if I can improve more on myself there’s still a lot I can do for my dear country. I will go back to intensive more efforts into my training,” Akinteye said.

    The competition which commenced on Feb. 7 will end Feb. 11.

    No fewer than 90 wrestlers are representing Nigeria at the championship.

    The participating countries are Nigeria, Liberia, Egypt, Morocco, Guinea-Bissau, Tunisia, Algeria, Namibia, Kenya, Burundi, Senegal, Ghana, Uganda, Sierra Leone, Central Africa Republic and Madagascar.

    NAN

  • Braimoh wins Lagos Monopoly Championship

    Elizabeth Braimoh, of Topfield Schools, has been declared winner of the City of Lagos Monopoly Championship.

    One hundred schools and 1,300 participants attended the event.Miss Braimoh won N600, 000 worth of education grant after earning N17,614 in the tournament.

    Ojo Aliu, of Boys Junior Academy, who earned N13, 599, came second, and he got N500,000 grant.

    Nwabueze Precious, of Topfield College, Apapa, who earned N13,557, came third.She won N300,000. Robert Stanley, of Ajeromi Ifelodun Secondary School, clinched the fourth position, after earning N12,232.

  • NIGERIAN DANCE CREWS STORM HIP HOP CHAMPIONSHIP

    HISTORY will be made in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA tomorrow as Nigeria’s The Clique and The Future crews mount the stage to represent Nigeria at the World Hip-Hop Dance Championship.

    It is the first time two teams will be representing Nigeria in the week-long dance event since its inception in 2002.

    Team Nigeria will be battling alongside 3500 dancers from 50 countries including South Africa, Kenya and Zimbabwe for the bragging rights to be the world’s number one hip hop dance crew. The team will also have the opportunity to attend the Urban Moves Dance Workshops led by dance icons like Brian Puspos, Tight Eyez, Matt Steffanina and Parris Goebel.

    The World Hip Hop Dance Championship is produced by Los Angeles based Hip Hop International (HHI). HHI is also the producer of the popular MTV’s Randy Jackson presents America’s Best Dance Crew, the World Battles and Urban Moves Dance Workshops.

    According to the Country Director Hip Hop International Nigeria Engr. Ademola Andrew Owolabi this will be the third time that his organisation will be sponsoring dancers from Nigeria to the championship. He disclosed that the dancers have been rehearsing since May and they are well prepared to make the nation proud.

    He stressed the need for government and corporate organisations to look beyond music and movies and leverage the huge potentials of dance as a tool for youth empowerment and productivity. HHIN is responsible for hosting of the qualifiers, team’s visa, airfare, feeding and accommodation in the United States.

  • FIBA Africa Zone 3 Championship: First Bank eyes trophy despite changes

    FIBA Africa Zone 3 Championship: First Bank eyes trophy despite changes

    • Mark Mentors, Pillars rekindle rivalry

    New coach of First Bank Basketball Club, Peter Ahmedu has promised that he would improve the fortunes of the club despite the changes that took place before he was appointed the coach.

    Ahmedu, who led Mark Mentors Basketball Club to victory in the DStv Premier Basketball League this year, stated that his desire is to take the team to a greater height and bring back the winning mentality into the team again.

    “I must say that the team I meet in Cotonou is relatively a new one, but with time it will become a unit capable of winning titles. It is clear that we are in transition, however, we will still contest for the FIBA Africa Zone Three crown,” Ahmedu said.

    The coach also expressed happiness that the players and the team officials welcomed him with open arms and noted that the relationship would make his work easier. “I got a fantastic reception when I arrived in Cotonou and I believe that this will help me do a good job as I try to take the team to a new level.”

    When asked how he would tackle Dolphins, who dethroned his team as Nigerian champions, Ahmedu said: “Dolphin is a good side and they showed this by winning the league for the first time this year. They are a compact team and the defending champions of the zone, but we will do everything possible to ensure that we emerge victorious. it is not a small task, but it is achievable.”

    He, however, said that qualifying for the African championship and building a strong team are his immediate priority.

    Meanwhile, Nigerian champions, Mark Mentors and Kano Pillars will renew rivalry when the competition begins on Wednesday at Palaise des Sports de Cotonou.

    Mentors have taken the dominant role over Kano Pillars Dstv Premier Basketball League in the just concluded season. Technical Adviser, Adeka Daudu has since taken over the reign at Mark Mentors after Ahmedu joined First Bank.

    Daudu, who was a former coach of Dodan Warriors, would have his hands full against a Pillars’ side that would be seeking revenge after losing the national title to Mentors.  What is sure is that there would be a lot of fireworks when both teams meet.

    The Championship will be contested by champion and runners-up teams from the eight countries of the Zone, namely Benin Republic, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia, Niger, Nigeria and Togo.

  • 26 teams for Doregos Basketball Championship

    26 teams for Doregos Basketball Championship

     • As ISL eyes eighth title

    For 12 years, the annual Doregos Inter-School Basketball Championship has been staged uninterrupted and against this year, 26 teams from Lagos and Ogun States have confirmed their participation in the tournament, which dunks off on November 7.

    Also, seven-time winner, International School, Lagos (ISL) is eyeing another title to become the most successful team in the competition.

    At a press briefing to herald the commencement of this year’s championship, the Administrator of Doregos Private Academy, Mrs. Olufunmilayo Ogunsi said the tournament is part of the school commitment to sports development in Nigeria. She particularly praised the doggedness of the sponsor, Mrs. Clementina Doregos who has continued to keep faith with the staging of the championship annually.

    “I must commend Mrs. Doregos for her vision to initiate the competition because sports is very important aspect of education. Unlike before whereby sports was referred to as extra-curricular activity but now it is a co-curricular activity that helps to mould the physical and mind of students. We hope that this year will again produce new champions even as we urge the participants to eschew indiscipline but display sportsmanship which is part of the lessons that sports has to offer,” Ogunsi said.

    Also, Coach of ISL, Ijeomah Ernest believes they are capable of holding on to the title this year while other teams have vowed to halt ISL’s dominance of the boys’ event.

    “I think we are still in the right form to hold on to the title. We are basketball playing school and we have consistently shown this in all our performance even to the national level. We hardly boast before the competition and we only do our talking in the court,” Ernest said.

    For this year, four zones will host the preliminaries with the top teams from each zone making it to the knockout stages of the championship.

    Quarter-final matches will commence on November 21, while the semifinal and finals will hold on January 23 and February 4, 2016.

     

  • Africa Para Table Tennis Championship: Obiora, Koleosho qualify for Rio 2016 Paralympics Games

    Africa Para Table Tennis Championship: Obiora, Koleosho qualify for Rio 2016 Paralympics Games

     

    Nigeria’s Ahmed Owolabi Koleosho and Chinenye Obiora have joined the list of athletes that will compete in the para table tennis event at the Rio 2016 Paralympics Games.

    Obiora was unbeaten in the women’s singles class 1-5 to emerge as winner ahead of players from Morocco and South Africa. The winner in each category gets an automatic ticket to the Paralympics Games.

    Unlike Obiora, Koleosho had to cause an upset to book his place at the Paralympics Games.  He accounted for Egypt’s Aly Mohamen Nasr, the top seed, in the final of Class 1-3 (11-8, 11-6, 11-7).

    An excited Koleosho said: “It is great to win when I was the second seed in the competition, it is a great step for me, I trained hard for this and I listened to every word my coach said. I practice for about four hours per day, in the final I was playing against a champion who is a very experienced player; I am new to the game, I only started to play in 2013.”

    The Nigerian admitted that the experience he garnered during the Morocco Open aided his success at the African Championship.  It is very big for me to qualify for the Paralympics; playing in the Morocco Open has really helped me improve, I lost to Welder Knaf from Brazil, he is very experienced but I learned a great deal by playing against him”, added Koleosho. “After the match he talked to me after little things which improved my game; before the tournaments in Agadir, we prepared in Nigeria against different players with various styles, this helped.”

    However, the duo of Francis Chukwuemeka and Emmanuel Chinedu Nick were unlucky in their categories as they failed to qualify for the Paralympics Games.

    Meanwhile, the President of African Table Tennis Federation (ATTF), Khaled El-Salhy described the tournament as competitive. The standard is quite good due to the participation of the top teams like Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa and the competition was quite fierce when during the semi-finals and final rounds to decide the winners and qualifiers,” the ATTF boss said.

  • GOtv ‘Hood to Hood’ Football Championship Season 2 Kicks Off Oct 19

    GOtv ‘Hood to Hood’ Football Championship Season 2 Kicks Off Oct 19

    The season 2 of the GOtv Hood to Hood Football championship set to hold between  October 19 and  November 1  at the Legacy/NIS pitch, National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.

    The plans for the tournament were unfolded at a press conference held at the Secretariat of Sports Writers’ Association of Nigeria (SWAN) in the National Stadium, Lagos.

    Speaking at the Press conference, the General Manager , GOtv, Mrs Elizabeth Amkpa disclosed that the GOtv Hood to Hood football championship is an initiative aimed at contributing towards the development of football at the grassroots.

    Amkpa assured that the Season 2 of the competition promises to be more exciting with a larger crowd of spectators expected. ”All the matches will be played at  the Legacy and NIS pitches of the National Stadium which will enable teeming football lovers to watch the matches live while adequate media coverage will be provided by Supersport”, she said

    Mrs Amkpa announced that the winner of the season 2 of the competition will go home with N500, 000 and a gold trophy, the second placed team will get N250, 000 and a silver trophy, the third placed team will get N150, 000 while the fourth placed team will go home with a consolatory prize of N100, 000.

    On the match fixtures for the competition, the Marketing Manager, GOtv,  Oludare Kafar noted that 16 teams will compete in the first round of the competition which will be  direct elimination to produce eight teams for the quarter final stage of the competition.

    According to Kafar, the four teams that emerge for the semi-final stage of the competition will be presented with a set of jerseys made in the four dominant colours of the brand which are yellow, green, white and red to play the semi-final match, third place and the final match.

  • 37th NB International Open Chess Championship kicks off today

    37th NB International Open Chess Championship kicks off today

    Today at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium, the 37th Nigerian Breweries Plc International Open Chess Championship kicks off.

    The N2.5m prize money is the longest sponsored chess tournament in Nigeria and players are expected to aim for titles in six events.

    According to the Corporate Affairs Adviser, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Kufre Ekanem the unalloyed support for the tournament was borne of the company’s key element in its youth empowerment and talent development initiatives.

    He added that the company would continue to partner Nigeria Chess Federation (NCF) in their quest to producing world class players. “The enthusiasm shown towards the game and the discovery of budding talents over the years has no doubt confirmed that NB Plc’s continuous partnership with NCF is not in vain,” he added.

    Six categories – Masters, Open, Ladies, Amateur, U-14 boys and girls will be competed for at the four-day tournament.

    President, NCF, Lekan Adeyemi lauded the management of NB for keeping faith with the tournament, adding that this competition has churned out world class players for Nigeria.

    He, however, explained that the federation would continue to grow the sport among students, as there are plans to popularise the game across the country.

    “We will remain grateful to NB Plc for their unflinching support in the last 37 years and for us at the federation this is a major tournament in our calendar and we hope that more players will come through this competition on a yearly basis.”

  • Quadri wins Mediterranean Club Championship with GD Toledos

    Quadri wins Mediterranean Club Championship with GD Toledos

    As part of his build-up to the International  Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Cup scheduled for next week in Germany, Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri was instrumental to GD Toledos’ triumph at the 2014 Mediterranean club championship held in Istanbul, Turkey.

    Twelve teams drawn from Tunisia, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, France, Lebanon and Turkey were pitched against one another in groups.

    The teams were drawn into four groups of four each with the top teams in each expected to progress to the semifinal stage of the competition.

    Quadri and his teammates – Andre Silva and Diogo Silva – were pitched against teams from Tunisia and Slovenia.

    It was easy for Quadri and his mates to emerge from the group as the top team as they pounded the teams 3-0 apiece.

    In the semifinal tie, they were expected to face France’s Sporting Union which has former world number 30, Liu Song.

    Before the encounter, Quadri’s team had been written off by the fans but to the chagrin of the spectators, GD Toledos shocked the French side 3-0 to set up a final clash against a Croatian side.

    Narrating how the final match went, the Oyo State-born player said: “Andre Silva started the match and he won against Chinese-born Zheng Jen in a convincing encounter that ended 3-1 for my team to take a 1-0 lead. I took on Kolarek Tomislave in the second match and I accounted for the defeat of the Croat when I won 3-1 to increase the lead to 2-0. Unfortunately, Diogo Silva could not cope against his opponent in the third match but he lost 3-0 to put the game at 2-1. In the deciding match, I defeated Jen to ensure that my team was crowned the champion of Mediterranean.”

    The African champion added: “It was great to be in Turkey as part of my preparation for the ITTF World Cup next week as I had led my team to the third round of the European Table Tennis Union (ETTU) Cup in Luxembourg, where we are expected to tackle a French team in our next match of the competition

  • Tunis 2014: Nigeria missing as CAHB club championship begins

    Tunis 2014: Nigeria missing as CAHB club championship begins

    Nigerian clubs will not be participating at the 36th African Club Handball Championship which starts from today to October 19 in Tunis, Tunisia.

    According to the Confederation of African Handball (CAHB), 24 teams -12 men and 12 women- will take part in the elite competition, which will determine the continental champion at the end of the event.

    The teams in Men’s Group A are Al Ahly of Egypt, Club African of Tunisia, Widad Smara of Morocco, Cameroun’s University Buoa, Etoile of Congo and Blessing Handball Club of Congo Democratic Republic, while Group B has host, Esperance of Tunis, F.A.P of Cameroun, Stade Madji of, Gabon, J.S.K OF Congo Democratic Republic of Congo and a yet-to-be identified team from Angola.

    In the women’s event, Petro of Angola, F.A.P of Cameroun, African Sports of Cote d’Ivoire, HC Nuru of Democratic Republic of Congo, Mikishi of Democratic Republic of Congo and Progresso of Angola make up Group A.  In Group B are Primero of Angola, T.K.C.Y DE of Cameroun, Phoenix of Gabon, US Nouasser, Nairobi Waters and another team from Congo.

    Ruing Nigeria’s absence at the competition, President of the Handball Federation (HFN), Dauda Yusuf stated that efforts were on to ensure that Nigerian team returns to CAHB elite competition next year.

    He stated that this would be made possible as soon as the national league kicks off with a title sponsor.

    Yusuf noted that it was pertinent to ensure that teams that would represent the country at international events are well prepared and given the necessary backing. He also used the opportunity to appeal to sponsors to supports the federation’s programmes.